Both fighters face the biggest test of their careers in what looks to be an explosive battle.
Once upon a time, Heavyweight’s ruled the world of Boxing. Legends were made and unforgettable moments were etched into the history of the sport. In 1971, Joe Frazier had to go the full 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali to claim the coveted World Title. Today however, is a different story.
Canadian Bermane Stiverne inherited greatly from the retirement of superstar Vitali Kiltschko who as a result was granted a shot at the vacant World Title in a rematch against Chris Arreola, who he’d already beaten just a year before. Stiverne won the fight by KO in the 6th round and the World Title was his despite never really facing any serious top quality opponents in his career.
The time has come however, for the Champ to be tested. On Saturday night in Las Vegas the 36-year-old will share the ring with arguably the hardest hitting puncher in boxing, Deontay Wilder. Wilder, aptly nicknamed ‘The Bronze Bomber’ boasts an unheard of 100% KO record from his 32 pro bouts. He’s the man who has Americans on the edge of their seats and excited about the Heavyweight division again despite the poor level of opposition he’s faced.
Saying that, any fighter who KO’s every single one of his opponents has immense power. The American has never been past 4 rounds and often starts fights like a raging bull, charging down his opponent looking to end the fight as quickly as possible, a tactic that I believe will work against Stiverne too.
The 29-year-old stands at 6’7 and his lanky body shape gives him a very impressive 84 inch reach. As with many of Wilder’s previous opponents Stiverne is going to struggle seeing any of Wilder’s huge over the top hooks that tend to chop down fighters. However, it’s when Wilder gets in close and is able to offload 4 or 5 punch combinations that he becomes truly dangerous. Stiverne often likes to fight on the ropes and counter punch, a ploy that simply won’t work against Wilder. He’ll inevitably get caught and the fight will be over.
For the Canadian to have any chance in this fight he needs to take Wilder where he hasn’t been before, the championship rounds. The only question mark that looms over Wilder is his endurance so if Stiverne can weather the storm early on he can have success in the late rounds. After all, the Haiti-born fighter does certainly pack a punch himself and is an excellent counter puncher.
Deontay Wilder has so often spoken of his dream to become World Champion and for that reason I believe he’s going to come out faster and more explosive than ever. For that reason, I can see the American maintaining his 100% KO record with a 4th round stoppage at 9/1.
