By Cliff Rold

However heavy the burden of history might be, 22-year old Heavyweight Deontay Wilder of Tuscaloosa, Alabama bore it on Sunday night, salvaging America’s medal hopes and guaranteeing that his nation would experience the audacious prospect of going without a single reward in a sport it once dominated.  It was a man sized effort from a young man whose life story screams nothing but all man.

Dropping out of college to take care of a daughter with spinal bifida, Wilder picked up the gloves just more than three years ago to find a better way for her while driving truck in his working hours.  He will leave the 2008 Beijing Games having made his little girl proud with no less than a Bronze Medal.  Can he bring her the Gold?  And if so, just how much Gold could await both of them in the paid ranks?

These are the tantalizing questions which await Wilder as he prepares for his semi-final bout this Friday, question possible after a nail biting 10-10 bout against Morocco’s Mohammad Arjaoui went his way on

Wilder has built a reputation for falling behind in bouts only to find a way out of his holes.  As noted in this corner after his first bout, there is a little bit of the Incredible Hulk to Wilder, a fighter who gets angry when behind on points and, well, most know the rest.  It’s like he has to get behind to get into a fight.

Standing at 6’7, Wilder towers over much of the field at 201 lbs. and came out using that size against Arjaoui with a long jab but fell behind, of course, when a lunging Arjaoui right drew first scoring blood.  Another right built on the lead before a left jab and long right hand drew Wilder even.  His first round was tentative but controlled.

A right put Wilder ahead as he tried to keep Arjaoui at distance and he was fortunate that a long right from the Moroccan went unscored.  Wilder stayed with the jab and ion the closing seconds blasted Arjaoui with a right that knocked him backwards to go to 4-2 but Arjaoui got the point back on a left to end the round.  Wilder late began to step forward with more authority on the jab but was pawing with too many shots and some nervousness could settle in.

Another Moroccan left meant a tie score early in the third and each scored rights to bring the total to 5-5.  The Moroccan landed a hard left jab with the side power hand scored points but Arjaoui went ahead 7-6 with one round to go.  It was a hole Wilder was familiar with, having trailed into the final round of each of his final Olympic qualifier bouts earlier this year.

Two minutes stood between one and none in terms of American medals.  Wilder landed a hard right hand early and got no point but another right did secure the tie he needed.  A big Arjaoui shot got the lead back and every American watching could move to the edge of their seats.  They traded points leaving the Moroccan up 9-8 and the leader began looking to move, hold and protect his lead.  A caution was issued for running to Arjaoui which gave Wilder two penalty points and the lead with less than a minute to go.  What appeared to be an Arjaoui forearm to the throat moved him inexplicably into a tie and second later it went to the cards.

Accepted scoring takes the gross score of all five judges, throws out the high and low score and, in this case, went to the red corner by a single point at 23-22.  That is where Wilder stood…and no matter what happens from here, Wilder is assured that he will stand on the medal podium next weekend at Worker’s Indoor Arena.

Quarterfinals Grade: B

Wilder-Arjaoui was a sloppy bout and the Moroccan, devastated by the loss, stayed with Wilder every step of the way.  Wilder made lots of technical mistakes, backing straight away from punches and not shortening up as his opponent got close.  He still landed enough to win.  Not surprisingly, both men could be certain that there reflected scores were not the total of their output. 

Wilder spoke out about the feeling of he and his teammates that scoring has been unfair to America at these Games, and the wisdom of that with his fate still in their hands was debatable.  At least it was honest as were his repeated shot outs back home to remind his little girl that “Daddy Loves you.” 

Any frustration with what is past at these Games must be put aside right now, right away.  Wilder has a tall order if he wants to go all the way.  In the Bronze Medal round, he will face reigning World Amateur champion Clemente Russo of Italy.  Russo has experience with the Stars and Stripes in the Olympics, having been eliminated by eventual Gold Medal winner Andre Ward at Light Heavyweight in 2004.  He’ll be looking for a measure of revenge on Friday night. 

Wilder will be looking for more.  As an American Heavyweight in a professional landscape without many worth watching, fewer with his prodigious power, and a fantastic personal story, a Gold Medal for Wilder could change his whole life.  He didn’t show the power he has to full extent against Arjaoui; he’ll need it against the more experienced Russo. 

If he can do it, he’ll have the national stage of NBC network coverage next weekend.

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Semifinals: Deontay Wilder vs. Clemente Russo

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Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com