Deontay Wilder boasts the sort of power that can end a fight in an instant.
The American moved 43 fights undefeated in his career, claiming the WBC World Heavyweight Title and defending it over a period of five years with knockout after knockout. Of his 43 wins, only one opponent has seen the final bell.
His fortunes soured when he met Tyson Fury. After fighting to a contentious draw in their first bout, the Brit would produce two knockouts of his own in the second and third, taking the title and leaving Wilder facing a long road back to the top.
After a first round stoppage of Robert Helenius, the 39-year-old ended a period of inactivity by facing fellow former world champion Joseph Parker. The New Zealander upset the odds impressively, nullifying Wilder’s main weapon, hurting him and winning every round on his way to a unanimous decision.
In the aftermath, Parker said Wilder possesses a ‘very hard right hand’ and admitted the fight could have played out differently had he not been switched on for all twelve rounds.
“Practice, practice, practice. Work, work, work. Listen, I had to be aware of it at all times. He did catch me a few times on the guard and, I’ll tell you this, it’s a very hard right hand. If it landed clean it would’ve been different, but today’s my day.”
Elaborating in an interview with Boxing News post-fight, Parker said he started out cautious but grew into the fight as he broke the American down with his own work.
“I was very cautious in the beginning of the fight, because of what Wilder presents and how dangerous he is as a fighter – he can finish you off just like that in the blink of an eye. I was picking my moments, picking my shots. As the rounds progressed I was gaining more confidence in what I was doing.”
Wilder was branded gun-shy in the bout, which is slightly unfair to Parker who fought the perfect gameplan. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ did, however, show the same negative signs when he next faced Zhilei Zhang and was knocked out in five rounds.
Despite some in the sport calling for his retirement, Wilder has confirmed he will fight on and has said he is interested in a fight with former UFC Champion Francis Ngannou, who took Fury the ten round distance in his debut defeat before being knocked out by Anthony Joshua
