by David P. Greisman
Deontay Wilder’s fight with Artur Szpilka at Barclays Center on Jan. 16 will be the first heavyweight title in Brooklyn in nearly 116 years, dating back to when James Jeffries faced James Corbett in May 1900.
Wilder is hoping this bout will be a memorable one.
“I want an exciting fight. At the end of the day, I want a fight that people can say it was one of the best fights of the year. I want people to say, ‘I want to see those guys fight again.’ That’s the kind of show I’m looking for,” Wilder said on a Dec. 16 media conference call. “I’m looking for a great performance on my behalf. 2016 is a new year for me. I’m setting a tone, I’m setting a pace with the start of this fight. I’m going to show an example of Szpilka to all the rest of them that get in the way, that Deontay Wilder is not playing.”
The way that message would be sent is with a decisive conclusion, he said.
“I definitely want a win in a fantastic fashion,” Wilder said. “Where I hit him and he start trembling on the canvas, his tongue on the back of his mouth kind of performance. Where his head say that he going to sleep more when he hit the canvas kind of performance. A crime scene where they put the chalk around his body type of performance, if you feel me.”
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