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by David P. Greisman - Boxing fans can be a tough crowd, skeptical from the outset and difficult to impress. We’ve seen enough careful matchmaking and followed far too many prospects that were built up strategically only to crash down spectacularly.
So a fighter who has been blasting through his opposition but gets caught clean a few times is suddenly described as flawed and soon to be exposed. A boxer who gets knocked down has a questionable chin. Yet a fighter who hasn’t floored his opponent may have too little power.
There’s not often gray area, just black and white. Still, such skepticism tends to be born from observation and repetition. Sometimes these skeptics are proven right.
Deontay Wilder had his doubters years before he won a heavyweight world title. While he was the lone American male boxer to win a medal in the 2008 Olympics, Wilder was still admittedly raw at the time. He’d arrived very late to the sport, lacing up the gloves out of necessity at 19 years old, a young father of a baby daughter born with a birth defect called spina bifida. He thought fighting could earn him money to support her needs.
Less than three years later, he had a bronze medal hanging from his neck. Less than three months afterward, he turned pro.
His development was gradual, as is the case with nearly all prospects signed with powerful promoters and any manager who has at least half a clue. Wilder knocked them all out quickly. The level of opposition rarely ever advanced beyond designated fall guys, however. He’d only just faced Audley Harrison, once the super heavyweight gold medalist in the 2000 Olympics, long since the disappointment who lost when he stepped up, and by that time was a 41-year-old who tended to be knocked out early when he did so. [Click Here To Read More]
So a fighter who has been blasting through his opposition but gets caught clean a few times is suddenly described as flawed and soon to be exposed. A boxer who gets knocked down has a questionable chin. Yet a fighter who hasn’t floored his opponent may have too little power.
There’s not often gray area, just black and white. Still, such skepticism tends to be born from observation and repetition. Sometimes these skeptics are proven right.
Deontay Wilder had his doubters years before he won a heavyweight world title. While he was the lone American male boxer to win a medal in the 2008 Olympics, Wilder was still admittedly raw at the time. He’d arrived very late to the sport, lacing up the gloves out of necessity at 19 years old, a young father of a baby daughter born with a birth defect called spina bifida. He thought fighting could earn him money to support her needs.
Less than three years later, he had a bronze medal hanging from his neck. Less than three months afterward, he turned pro.
His development was gradual, as is the case with nearly all prospects signed with powerful promoters and any manager who has at least half a clue. Wilder knocked them all out quickly. The level of opposition rarely ever advanced beyond designated fall guys, however. He’d only just faced Audley Harrison, once the super heavyweight gold medalist in the 2000 Olympics, long since the disappointment who lost when he stepped up, and by that time was a 41-year-old who tended to be knocked out early when he did so. [Click Here To Read More]
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