By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Deontay Wilder is much more concerned with his wait than his weight.
The 6-feet-7 Wilder weighed in at just 220¾ pounds for his first-round destruction of Bermane Stiverne in their mandatory rematch Saturday night at Barlcays Center in Brooklyn. The unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion was eight-plus pounds lighter than his career high of 229 and 34 pounds lighter than his opponent.
Just like in his first 38 professional fights, though, Wilder’s weight wasn’t the disadvantage it might’ve appeared to be on paper. That’s why Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs) no longer dwells on how much he weighs entering fights.
If he is built more like an NBA small forward than a heavyweight champion, yet still knocks out heavier men, so be it.
“It ain’t no need for me to get on the scale no more,” Wilder said following his knockout of Stiverne. “I’m always low when it comes to weight, but we don’t even really think about it no more. The weight is gonna be what it is.”
Wilder, 32, has out-weighed his opponents before just seven of his 39 pro bouts. He has been the lighter fighter in each of his seven heavyweight championship matches since January 2015.
Wilder’s primary target, 6-feet-6 Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs), weighed in at 254 pounds for his last fight, a 10th-round stoppage of Cameroon’s Carlos Takam (35-4-1, 27 KOs) on October 28 in Cardiff, Wales. The sculpted superstar look likes a bodybuilder, more physically imposing than the skinnier Wilder, but Wilder considers his “Alabama country power” an equalizer no matter how big and strong his opponent might be.
“It’s funny how my body works,” Wilder said. “You know, in camp I’m always heavier. I’m always like in the 230s, something like that. It’s like when it’s time to come to war, it’s always like my weight drops. And I don’t take nothing. I’ve done tried the chefs, I’ve done tried the nutrionists. I’ve done tried all that stuff and it seems like the same thing over and over again. So I just got comfortable with what I am.
“I tell people all the time that I’d rather be the part than look the part. Looking the part, you know, it only gets you so far. But actually being that part, it gets you to where I am now. You know, so I don’t really care about guys [having] more weight than I. It will never matter, ever, because one thing about it that people can’t measure, nor can they weigh, is my heart. It’s big. It’s heavy. So when these guys fight me, they better be ready.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
