By Luke Furman
Polish heavyweight Artur Szpilka (20-1, 15 KOs) continues the tough grind, as he trains through the holidays for the biggest fight of his career on January 16th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. He will challenge Deontay Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs) for the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight championship.
As BoxingScene.com previously reported, Szpilka is working with Eric Molina in camp. Molina challenged Wilder for the title last year and had the champion in trouble in the early rounds, before Wilder recovered to knock him out in the second half.
"I will be so strong [for this fight], like I want to be. For example, Molina is heavier than me but I'm able to push him [back during sparring]. He is obviously trying to attack, but after one or two counter-attacks he goes in reverse. Molina does not have the punch of Wilder, but he is a lot smarter than him in the ring," Szpilka said.
After getting stopped by Bryant Jennings in early 2014, Szpilka hired Ronnie Shields and changed his career around. Since that loss he's won four fights in a row, three of them by knockout.
"After the loss to Jennings, my entire thinking and attitude has changed. Such things simply grow with age. I think [this fight came to me at the right time]. He really has never boxed with an opponent who is as quick on his feet as I am and left-handed. When we stand eye to eye, Wilder will find out that this is not a joke and he is facing someone who is going to kick his ass," Szpilka said.
"Wilder is open in his attacks, and he really believes in his right hand, which gives a faster opponent an opportunity [to catch him]. I also noticed that when attacking Wilder, he raises his arms real high before countering. He waits for someone to finish their attack, and only then does he move in wit his offense. I am much faster than his last three opponents."
Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.