by David P. Greisman
Artur Szpilka thinks he will do something that 35 others have failed to do — beat Deontay Wilder when he challenges the heavyweight titleholder in the main event of a Jan. 16 Showtime broadcast at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“I am going to kick your ass,” Szpilka said on a Dec. 16 media conference call, with Wilder also on the phone.
“I have everything what a good boxer has — a strong punch, good legs. I am confident, and I know this is my time,” he added later. “Deontay Wilder is a great fighter. He is strong. I have respect for him. But he never fight with somebody like me. One fighter who was good, I think, was Bermane Stiverne, and that’s it. He will see 16th of January. I am ready.”
Wilder is 35-0 with 34 KOs. But Szpilka draws a difference between the first 32 fighters Wilder faced and the most recent opponents.
“Only three people actually tried to fight him,” Szpilka said through a translator. “The rest of them lost before they even stepped in the ring. They were afraid.”
Wilder nevertheless scored a unanimous decision victory over Stiverne to win the title last January, got past being wobbled by Eric Molina to score a knockout win in June, then battled through a gritty effort from Johann Duhaupas before scoring a technical knockout win in September.
Szpilka has won four in a row since his January 2014 stoppage loss to Bryant Jennings, outpointing Tomasz Adamek and then making quick work of Ty Cobb, Manuel Quezada and Yasmany Consuegra. He is 20-1 with 15 KOs.
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