by David P. Greisman
The only fight in Deontay Wilder’s career that didn’t end with him scoring a knockout victory was when he outpointed Bermane Stiverne earlier this year to win a heavyweight title. There were 32 KOs in 32 wins before then, and there was one KO in his one fight since then, a June win over Eric Molina.
Wilder is hoping to keep this new streak going with his Sept. 26 fight against Johann Duhaupas, which main events a “Premier Boxing Champions” broadcast on NBC.
“Due to the fact that he’s never been stopped, he don’t know what it is to be knocked out. I feel that I definitely have to win this fight by knockout,” Wilder said on a Sept. 17 media conference call, referencing the fact that the Duhaupas’s two losses on his 32-2 (20 KOs) record came by unanimous decisions dropped to Francisco Pianeta in 2008 and Erkan Teper this past March.
“I want to give him his first knockout, that’s for sure,” Wilder said. “I’m a proven fighter all the way around. Once I became champion, I showed people what I can do. I can take a punch. I can give a punch. I can go rounds and all that. As far as keeping my legacy alive, me building a legacy, of course I want to continue with the knockout spree, but sometimes you get those guys that can take a punch. We gonna see, can Duhaupas take a punch?
“He’s never faced a guy with my caliber, with my speed, with my talent, with my IQ in the ring and with my power. We’re going to see how the fight plays out. But I definitely feel that I need a knockout in this fight.”
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
