Grade Deontay Wilder's performance last nite

Really he has only now reached being a real prospect, you could pretty much call him 0-0 right now because those first 30 fights were an apprenticeship and now he should be put on a real career path. Still that is a slow process and doesn't involve him fighting top guys for a while yet, he needs to fight better guys going forward but he is still a raw prospect so what you want to see is improvement out of him each fight and which is what I have seen. I dare anyone to go back and watch a few early fights of his and then watch the last few preferably in order and say he hasn't gotten quite a bit better.

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I've followed Deontay Wilder since he made his pro debut in '08. It's been tough to gauge how decent a fighter he is, since most of his fights end within 2 rounds and his competition has been dismal, at best. Last night we learned a lot about this guy. We saw him against an opponent who didn't fold under pressure the first time he was hit. Firtha is a tough dude and came out with guns blazin' in the first round and made Wilder somewhat uncomfortable. However, beyond that, Firtha didn't have much to offer really. By round two he was barely throwing punches and seemed to be in survival mode for the remainder of the fight. The punches he did throw weren't very sharp and did little to dissuade the Bronze Bomber. OK, let's talk about Wilder. I was disappointed. He doesn't have the look of boxer. His punches didn't look natural and fluid and it seemed like his muscular physique somewhat constricts the natural motion. He looks like more of a body builder than boxer. He throws the jab with a side-arm motion so it's more a flick than a straight jab. His footwork and defense seem to be suspect as well. Alright, let's talk about some of the pros. In an era where people frequently criticize a fighter's condition, Wilder is a specimen of peak physical condition. He's in tremendous shape and doesn't have an ounce of fat on him. Wilder is also super aggressive and his power is undeniable; he also has the "killer instinct" that many of his peers lack. Wilder likes landing the huge punch and knocking guys out. That said, he is nowhere near a title shot IMO. He needs to despartely step it up against a credible opponent; someone like Boystov, Helenius, Mago, Wach, Dimitrenko. He hasn't fought anyone who has put up any semblance of resistance. He needs to be tested (more than once) before he gets into the ring with a top opponent like Wlad. pretty much agree with every thing you said. he definitely needs to take on a guy that can give him some resistance to see what hes really made of. a wach or guinn would be perfect. he really needs to shorten up on his punches and improve his defense. I love the power tho. its legit

Guinn or Kevin Johnson would be good opponents at this point. Both are solid fighters with sound defense but offensively are challenged. Both guys have never been knocked out so it would be a plus if Wilder was able to. Kevin Johnson mght be a bit much right now but in a few fights that's a decent match up. He would definitely go rounds and he has an excellent jab which could cause wilder a lot of problems

It wasn't as bad a performance as some have made out. He saw something new in this fight as Firtha came in with a little ambition and put him on the back foot and he did ok. Even though they look bad his punches had good snap and the ko still came in devastating fashion. However i was surprised at how dodgy his footwork still is. With all the world class sparring he's getting id have thought it would be further along by now :dunno: He also needs to bring his hands back way quicker. Honestly i only boxed for a short time but that was drilled out of me within a few weeks. Cant stand and admire your work when your in with better opponents so why do it now? This is all practice for the future and he should treat it like that. Still enjoying the KO's though

Guinn or Kevin Johnson would be good opponents at this point. Both are solid fighters with sound defense but offensively are challenged. Both guys have never been knocked out so it would be a plus if Wilder was able to.

wilder literally just turned 28 a couple of days ago. that is a baby in HW terms, especially when you've got a guy with a long frame. you are overestimating wilder. he's not that far along yet. the guy started boxing when he was a grown man. he's talented. he's not a good boxer. he's got the potential to make a ton of money down the line. putting him in with guys who are supposed to give him several rounds and lose are exactly what he needs. he didn't get it early in his career. he needs it now. wilder should be in there with dominick guinn. a relatively dangerous opponent who can go rounds. that's what they tried to do with liakhovich. firtha likewise, as he went the distance with banks and povetkin. i like the guinn fight. he's rugged and as far as i know, never been stopped. it's a good guy to build wilder with as he's not a big puncher. i like guinn by the way. always root for him except for when he fought james toney. solid gatekeeper

i give him a B+. he showed a nice variety of punches and that jab is looking good. i dont think he's quite ready for a top 10 fighter but he showed some improved skills against a guy who came to fight. he needs to stop loading up on that right hand, but overall i think he's on his way

I disagree wit dis. They're not "ruining him" but his team is doing him a disservice IMO. Feeding him a steady diet of tomato cans does not move him along and progress his career. Wilder has sparred with Wlad/Haye and other top heavyweights so when you put him in with a guy like Firtha it's a huge step down. His management needs to put him in with someone who's gonna give him a challenge and who's gonna test him; Wilder is perfectly capable of beating a top 20 opponent, so why is his team so afraid of putting him in with one? I've been following Wilder since he went pro and I want him to succeed but what I'm afraid of, is his management taking the path of least resistance to a title shot and then having their fighter get dominated and KTFO. I've read numerous reports about how Wilder is positioning himself for a title shot next year and I've also heard Wladimir Klitschko talk about him as a potential opponent. With this in mind, is fighting guys like Firtha gonna prepare him? -Obvioulsy not. I'm sure Wilder could beat guys like Adamek, Wach, Dimitrenko, Zimnoch, Kevin Johnson, Glazkov, et al. His management needs to put some faith in their fighter and take the calculated gamble wilder literally just turned 28 a couple of days ago. that is a baby in HW terms, especially when you've got a guy with a long frame. you are overestimating wilder. he's not that far along yet. the guy started boxing when he was a grown man. he's talented. he's not a good boxer. he's got the potential to make a ton of money down the line. putting him in with guys who are supposed to give him several rounds and lose are exactly what he needs. he didn't get it early in his career. he needs it now. wilder should be in there with dominick guinn, a relatively dangerous opponent who can go rounds. that's what they tried to do with liakhovich. firtha likewise, as he went the distance with banks and povetkin.

Haha, just saw this Boxingscene story...... they've been talking like that about wilder for years now. it's just publicity. every promotor does it. that's how you get a prospect fighting top 50ish guys talked about like he's a contender. the kid hardly knows how to box. schaeffer knows that. don't expect him in a world title fight any time soon. if he does get stivern, expect him to lose. what you need with a HW like wilder is patience. he needs rounds and time. he spars some of the best HW in the world. he is getting better each fight, whether or not you like his matching. he's literally not even done filling out yet. i know that sounds crazy, but it's the truth. wilder will be stronger in two years.

I disagree wit dis. They're not "ruining him" but his team is doing him a disservice IMO. Feeding him a steady diet of tomato cans does not move him along and progress his career. Wilder has sparred with Wlad/Haye and other top heavyweights so when you put him in with a guy like Firtha it's a huge step down. His management needs to put him in with someone who's gonna give him a challenge and who's gonna test him; Wilder is perfectly capable of beating a top 20 opponent, so why is his team so afraid of putting him in with one? I've been following Wilder since he went pro and I want him to succeed but what I'm afraid of, is his management taking the path of least resistance to a title shot and then having their fighter get dominated and KTFO. I've read numerous reports about how Wilder is positioning himself for a title shot next year and I've also heard Wladimir Klitschko talk about him as a potential opponent. With this in mind, is fighting guys like Firtha gonna prepare him? -Obvioulsy not. I'm sure Wilder could beat guys like Adamek, Wach, Dimitrenko, Zimnoch, Kevin Johnson, Glazkov, et al. His management needs to put some faith in their fighter and take the calculated gamble Haha, just saw this Boxingscene story...... Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is looking to match Deontay Wilder (30-0, 30KOs) against Bermane Stiverne for the vacant WBC heavyweight title. Based on Vitali's recent announcement that he plans to be a candidate in the presidential elections in 2015, Schaefer believes Vitali will no longer fight and the belt will become vacant. Vitali has been inactive since late 2012. Stiverne (23-1-1, 20KOs) is the mandatory challenger to the title. After the fight with Stiverne, Schaefer wants to match Wilder against WBO/IBO/WBA/IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko. “Deontay is right up there in the top two or three ratings in the WBC. With the news that we got last week, that Vitali Klitschko is going to be running for president of the Ukraine, I anticipate that he will no longer fight and that the title will become vacant. My goal is to have Deontay fight in his next fight for the WBC heavyweight championship against Stiverne. And after that go for Wladimir Klitschko, unify all the titles and then become the undisputed champion the world. That was the plan, that is the plan and I plan to do everything in my power to get it done,” Schaefer said.

i think they're moving him well right now. the guy still hardly knows how to box. i don't care if he's got 130 fights. a guy who can't box yet is a guy who can't box yet. he's been matched recently with the intention of getting him rounds. that's exactly what i'd be doing. if you move him too quickly he will lose. he's an american HW with talent in his mid 20's. if they move him right he's going to become a very rich man. the only thing that will ruin him right now is moving him too quickly. doing what they're doing is not ruining him. you might not have the patience for it, but it is not ruining him. he cannot box yet. he is getting better. he needs rounds. when i say "he needs rounds" that doesn't mean he needs to be thrown to the wolves. "getting rounds" is something thats done against guys who are supposed to lose, but are good enough that you can't bomb them out without having to work for it. wilder has boxed 53 round as a pro, man. 53. I disagree wit dis. They're not "ruining him" but his team is doing him a disservice IMO. Feeding him a steady diet of tomato cans does not move him along and progress his career. Wilder has sparred with Wlad/Haye and other top heavyweights so when you put him in with a guy like Firtha it's a huge step down. His management needs to put him in with someone who's gonna give him a challenge and who's gonna test him; Wilder is perfectly capable of beating a top 20 opponent, so why is his team so afraid of putting him in with one? I've been following Wilder since he went pro and I want him to succeed but what I'm afraid of, is his management taking the path of least resistance to a title shot and then having their fighter get dominated and KTFO. I've read numerous reports about how Wilder is positioning himself for a title shot next year and I've also heard Wladimir Klitschko talk about him as a potential opponent. With this in mind, is fighting guys like Firtha gonna prepare him? -Obvioulsy not. I'm sure Wilder could beat guys like Adamek, Wach, Dimitrenko, Zimnoch, Kevin Johnson, Glazkov, et al. His management needs to put some faith in their fighter and take the calculated gamble

I like Wilder, let's get him in there with Arreola and see how he deals with a pressure boxer who has an iron chin to come with it. That's the challenge he needs so that we can see what he's really made of. And you're right, he doesn't really look like a boxer, he probably needs to work on his D some more, something he didn't need so far.

Just rewatched the fight and I think I was overally critical of Wilder's performance. Here are a few things that I liked: He seemed to use his reach and height to his advantage, fought at a distance and kept Firtha off with his stiff jab. He also seems to have a decent amount of speed and his punches sometimes look very crisp. Also, his punching power is awesome; he's got cracking punches. Also, while watching I could hear Teddy Atlas' voice saying something like "dis guy likes to admire his work" i.e. Wilder throws some huge one-two combo and watches his opponent's reaction instead of getting back into the defensive position. With these things in mind I would regrade his performance from an B to B+

c+, fights trashcans

I'd like to see him fight Travis Walker. Walkers been in with damn near everybody and can punch pretty damn hard if nothing else. If he gets past Walker put him in with somebody like Wach or Ustinov both of WHOm I am not convinced Wilder would get past but if he did he would learn something in the process and maybe be able to relax in the ring a bit better. Wilder is an interesting prospect but his cheerleaders are pretty much idiots. Americans always go gaga and starry eyed for muscular "athletic" Black fighters. Another drawback on Wilder is to be brutally honest he doesn't seem to be the brightest lightbulb in the box either. Not all Americans. "Athletic" is important but one among many talents. Sugar Ray Leonard and Roy Jones fit that mold but Bernard Hopkins and Evander Holyfield do not. And I'm not sure where to put Floyd Mayweather. He, as with Hopkins, are more cerebral than athletic. They out think their opponent, lay traps and win via counters as opposed to their "athleticism".

I gave him a B. He got caught off guard in the first round. However, he did exactly what he needed to do in that fight. He hurt his opponent several times, got the KO, and was never in any trouble. We just saw the supposed best heavyweight ever hug his way to a victory. Wilder can punch and KOs everyone they put in front of him. I'm sure they'll keep stepping up his competition. Until someone comes along and truly challenge him I believe he's on the right path to becoming a good if not great heavyweight.

GAve him a B-......he got the KO, did what he was supposed to do for the most part but he needs to work on his form and balance. He should be fighting like a tall boxer and throw a very straight right from his legs and use leverage. He can improve and will need to improve if he truly intends to step it up to fight the top guys.

a good indicator for Wilder is the fact he's sparred some of the best guys and they have all whooped him bad. There's videos of David Haye rocking him badly in sparring and there's photos of Wlad beating him to a pulp where his face is all bruised up in sparring, etc. Actually someone wrote an article about that spar and said if Wilder and Haye fought Wilder would put him flat on his back in one round. Plus the Klits say he is one of the best sparring partners he has ever had.

I'd like to see him fight Travis Walker. Walkers been in with damn near everybody and can punch pretty damn hard if nothing else. If he gets past Walker put him in with somebody like Wach or Ustinov both of WHOm I am not convinced Wilder would get past but if he did he would learn something in the process and maybe be able to relax in the ring a bit better. Wilder is an interesting prospect but his cheerleaders are pretty much idiots. Americans always go gaga and starry eyed for muscular "athletic" Black fighters. Another drawback on Wilder is to be brutally honest he doesn't seem to be the brightest lightbulb in the box either.