Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will be fighting for career survival against Stephan Shaw in April on BLK Prime PPV in Atlanta, Georgia.
Junkyard Bound
‘The Bronze Bomber’ Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) is badly in need of a pick-me-up to revive his sinking career, which has seen him post a 1-4 record in his last five fights. Some fans would view the 6’7″ Deontay as reduced to the junkyard scrap heap, along with Devin Haney, fighting in obscurity and no longer viewed as a world-class-level fighter.
Fighting Shaw (20-2, 15 KOs) will give the 39-year-old Deontay a chance to showcase his physical power if he can still pull the trigger on his punches.
We know the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Wilder can still punch because he landed a couple of right hands on his last opponent, Zhilei Zhang, that would have knocked out most heavyweights. However, Wilder doesn’t throw enough to win his fights anymore, and he seems absolutely terrified of being hit.
Shaw, 32, has size, power, and enough youth to give a good test of where Deontay is at with his career. This guy isn’t a top-tier heavyweight, so he should be perfect for Wilder to steamroll in April. That might not be the case.
Trigger Shy
The slapper Tyson Fury should have been an easy mark for Wilder if he let his hands go in their three fights, but he couldn’t do it. Age and fear were already catching up to Deontay from his first fight with the Gyspy King in 2018, and he’s steadily gotten worse in the six years since.
Shaw’s two career defeats have come against Joseph Goodall and Efe Ajagba. There’s no shame in him losing to those fighters because they both can punch and are aggressive. The 6’4″ Shaw has power, and he’s aggressive.
Unlike Deontay, Shaw is unafraid to let his hand go, and he’ll go down swinging against anyone. As such, if Wilder fights like he did against Fury, Joseph Parker, and Zhilei Zhang, he’s going to lose to Shaw and likely get knocked out.
A defeat against Shaw will be the end of Wilder’s career because he probably won’t want to return for the chump change offered to him for fights. Deontay is rich enough to where he doesn’t need to put himself through this mental torment anymore.
