Wilder: I Beat Stiverne Within Inch of Life; Not Ready for Me!

By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Deontay Wilder doesn’t see any reason why he should box Bermane Stiverne again.

There was no doubt about Wilder’s win in their January 2015 fight, which Wilder won by 12-round unanimous decision to take the WBC heavyweight title from Stiverne. That was the only time in Wilder’s 38-fight, nine-year career that he hasn’t knocked out his opponent, but a rematch seems unnecessary.

Stiverne somehow became the mandatory challenger for Wilder’s title, even though he was knocked down during the first round and struggled to defeat Derric Rossy in his only fight in the 2½ years since Wilder beat him. That’s another reason Wilder stressed to adviser Al Haymon that he wanted to face Cuban contender Luis Ortiz, not Stiverne, in his next fight.

“Well, first of all, Stiverne, come on, man, I convincingly beat him,” Wilder said during a press conference last week in Manhattan to officially announce his fight against Ortiz. “I whupped him so bad, I beat him to within an inch of his life, which I told him I would do that. Most times when I say I’m gonna do something, it always come around.

“So I feel like Stiverne wasn’t ready for me at this moment in time. In boxing, we try to keep it safe in a brutal sport, if that makes sense. And Stiverne only fought one time [since we fought], and got dropped. A lot of them said he lost. I feel like I was more active and he wasn’t ready for me at this time.”

The 38-year-old Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs) was paid a six-figure sum to step aside and allow Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) to oppose Ortiz (27-0, 23 KOs, 2 NC) on November 4 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (Showtime). That wouldn’t have been necessary if the WBC hadn’t inexplicably moved Stiverne into the top spot in its heavyweight rankings.

“I don’t know what goes on with the rankings,” Wilder said. “I don’t really keep up with the rankings stuff and all that, to be honest. … I don’t care about rankings. I’m the champion. You know what I’m saying? So everybody’s trying to get to me. So whatever position they stack up in, let’s do it. That’s how I feel. Let’s do it. I ain’t scared of nobody. I wasn’t raised that way. I wasn’t raised to run from nobody. I was raised to look you in your face. And when I demand respect and I put a threat on you, I shake your hand, so you know it’s signed, sealed and delivered.”

Las Vegas’ Stiverne is scheduled to battle Dominic Breazeale (18-1, 16 KOs), of Eastvale, California, on the Wilder-Ortiz undercard. If Wilder beats Ortiz, he might fight the Stiverne-Breazeale winner in his following fight, particularly if Wilder can’t secure a title unification fight against Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs), the IBF/IBO/WBA champion.

Wilder has history with Breazeale as well. They got into an altercation at a nearby hotel after they both won bouts by fifth-round knockout February 25 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.