Szpilka: Most Wilder Opponents Were Scared, I'm Not!

By Keith Idec

Artur Szpilka is convinced he has a huge advantage over most of the opponents Deontay Wilder has beaten on his way to 35-0.

The Polish heavyweight contender isn’t the least bit intimidated by the hard-hitting WBC champion. That’ll help him, according to Szpilka, approach Wilder with confidence most of the 6-foot-7 title-holder’s foes have lacked when they square off Jan. 16 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (Showtime).

“I think Wilder is good, strong, [has] a good right hand,” Szpilka recently stated. “But I don’t want to say what is not good [about Wilder]. He will see on the 16th of January. I can say he is a great fighter. He has a good punch, but we will see if this is a really good fighter. We will see if this is a really good punch. We will see 16th of January.

“Now I only see when somebody don’t want to fight with him, or somebody is scared. [Johann] Duhaupas, [Eric] Molina weren’t scared of him, and Bermane Stiverne. But everybody [else] was scared of him. When somebody’s scared, you can do everything what you want. I know I’m never scared and he will see this is no joke. I can’t wait until 16th of January. Every day when I wake up [in the] morning, I’m so excited. I can’t wait for this day. … I will be the first Polish heavyweight champion. Listen, he is a great fighter. I know. But he never, ever faced anybody like me. This is no joke. And that’s it.”

The 30-year-old Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, most commonly is listed by Internet sports books as a 16-1 favorite over the 26-year-old Szpilka (20-1, 15 KOs), who has lost only to Bryant Jennings (19-2, 10 KOs).

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.