That's what happens when you neglect your craft

[Slicc]

I don't care if you have a thunderous right hand, you absolutely need skills at the highest level. What happens when your money shot doesn't get your guy outta there or you get caught flush first?

This is boxing, you're getting punched in the head for a living; Things like footwork, feinting and defense should be taught early on in training. The fact that Wilder's team let him start a career in combat sports with hardly any fundamentals, tells me he's been surrounded by mostly "yes" men from the start. Breland was the legitimate coach. He was 100x the boxer Wilder is, and he got sacked for Malik Scott because Wilder couldn't be gracious in defeat. Now look at Wilder. Meeting the fate that Breland saved him from in his last fight. "Oh, Wilder could knock out anybody besides Fury doe." Sure, or his nonexistent head movement and mediocre inside game could get him starched again. If he doesn't retire, he better hire a trainer who actually knows what they're doing, and listen to them.

[creekrat77]

His legs are just gone. I could say his footwork is bad because it is, but I dont think he has the agility left in them to move anymore

[creekrat77]

Should have changed his style to a Joe Louis boxer puncher style. Head down and hands up.

[GrandpaBernard]

Should have changed his style to a Joe Louis boxer puncher style. Head down and hands up.

Can one as lanky as Deontay do the crouch style of JL

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

I don’t believe Wilder neglected his craft honestly. The guy trains hard, I just believe he’s technically deficient. Carl Froch was one of the most disciplined trainers I’ve seen in recent years and he always made the same fundamental mistakes. Some guys just don’t have the aptitude to box, it’s not like practicing a jump shot were if you just need practice and repetition.

If Wilder tried to to develop a more technical style, he’d lose a lot of the intangibles that have made him so successful. I always remember Manny Steward trying to make Naseem Hamed more technically sound and look what happened. Some guys have truly unique styles, that’s the beauty of the sport, there’s no real right or wrong way to box. Coaches should remember that to, far too many try to completely revolutionise the way their fighter boxes, when you should be moulding a fighter and finding what’s most effective based on their natural style.

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

Can one as lanky as Deontay do the crouch style of JL

I doubt it makes him more effective in all honesty. The one fighter I felt Wilder had similar attributes to was Tommy Hearns. Nowhere near as skilled as Hearns but I feel he was a fighter who’s style he could have learned from.

It’s all subjective though, who knows…

[GrandpaBernard]

I doubt it makes him more effective in all honesty. The one fighter I felt Wilder had similar attributes to was Tommy Hearns. Nowhere near as skilled as Hearns but I feel he was a fighter who’s style he could have learned from.

It’s all subjective though, who knows…

It ironic Deontay was beat twice by a Kronk guy

Steward would have been ideal for Deontay if he got ahold of him early enough in his career

[Mash121]

Wilder is not a gifted mover/boxer. He is a brawler and when things do not go his way he comes unstuck. Fury can box; Wilder cannot. You cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Wilder has moulded into the fighter he is today and will unlikely be any different from here.

[Southpawology]

Wilder is a basketball player with a dynamite right hand.

[ClubberLang82]

No, you don't need "skills at the highest level" in the heavyweight division. At least not in the total package way you're implying. They're all flawed in some way, none of them have everything the way some do in the lower weight classes. At heavyweight, all you need is to be special in some way, with maybe a small handful of elite skills or attributes. Wilder has power, heart, and chin at the highest level pound 4 pound, complimented by a 6'7 frame with twitchy hand speed when he comes in light. He's a special talent. There just happens to be one other bigger special talent right now who has his number.

Wilder's not out there losing fights he shouldn't be losing. It's not like he's been exposed since there isn't exactly a blueprint for others to follow. Not unless you're a 50lbs heavier giant with world class fight IQ and endurance never seen before at that size. Even then, it wasn't exactly easy work with Fury having to sc**** himself off the canvas 4 times in the trilogy.

You've already undercut your own argument, glossing over the obvious response that Wilder's particular set of skills probably stops everyone else in the division. Or at least if he's still the Wilder that fought Fury the first time before these wars... Fury himself thinks he's the only man who could've beaten Wilder. You should listen to him.