6’7” American heavyweight contender Deontay Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) figures that his athletic skills will be too much for the 36-year-old Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) in their fight this Saturday on 1/17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wilder intends on showing an athletic side to his game that he feels that the short, and slightly pudgy looking Stiverne has never seen before in his 10-year pro career.
Deontay wants to get in quickly, nail Stiverne with a big right hand to knock him out, and then get out of there so that he can move on to bigger and better things in his career like a fight against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. That’s where Wilder will begin to start making the big money.
“I need to let this beast inside of me out. I am so ready for this fight. We are bringing back the heavyweight division,” Wilder said today at the grand arrivals to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “He has never faced someone with my athletic skills. My athleticism alone is going to hurt him.”
There’s no doubt that Deontay Wilder is a much different kettle of fish compared to the guys that Stiverne has been facing thus far. You can’t compare Wilder to the plodding Chris Arreola, Demetrius King, Willie Herring, Ray Austin, Kertson Manswell and Ramon Hayes. The difference between Wilder and the guys that Stiverne has been facing during his career are like night and day. Deontay is much more dangerous and a far better fighter than those guys.
For all the talk about Wilder’s opposition being horrible, Stiverne’s opponents have been just as bad, if not worse. He’s only slightly decent fighter during his career and that’s Arreola, who is a badly flawed fighter who fought poorly in both of his fights against Stiverne.
Stiverne hasn’t fought a lot in the last five years. He fought just once in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. In 2012, he fought twice. That’s not an active heavyweight, and he’s obviously not young at 36. Whether his lack of activity will turn around and hurt him in this fight remains to be seen. But it might be one of the reasons why Stiverne is constantly resting against the ropes in his fight. His stamina is definitely suspect and he might not have the energy to fight in the middle of the ring like normal heavyweights.
“Once I knock this guy out it will be on to the next guy for me. He will definitely go down, I’m going to hurt him bad,” Wilder said.
