Is Deontay Wilder proving that skills do not matter in HW division

[Sheldon312]

I was listening to an interview between fight hype and Wilder and Wilder said something interesting. He said that, "In the Heavyweight division you don't need skills, all you need is power and that is something Good blessed me with." At first I laughed but I had to go back and look and he is not really lying. Take Foreman, Shavers, and Peter's for example. These guys weren't the most fundamental but they were still pretty successful. Foreman was known, back in the day, for being quite clumsy, yet he is ranked as a top ten HW of all time. Now, Wilder is very fundamentally flawed yet he has knocked out every opponent he has faced. Some are even considering him the favorite over Joshua. So, looking at Wilder's body of work would you agree that skills do not matter in HW division as much as it does in the lower divisions? Because if someone like Wilder was in the ww division they would've been got exposed.

[GhostofDempsey]

You need less skills, but not no skills. That is why Ali was so successful. He was a large HW with speed, reflexes and a great chin up agaisnt a lot of smaller and slower fighters who weren't very polished.

[Redd Foxx]

Let's not get carried away with the idea that he's completely talentless. He's got balance issues due to technique and an unusual frame. He can still punch quickly and fairly accurately. He's actually top 10 in many different stats (I know, I was surprised too).
Despite his issues, there aren't a whole lot of big men with greater skills right now.

[Outwest Exp 355]

Wilder isn’t completely unskilled. He can move, has great reach, has hand speed, a great jab, and has power. Last I checked those skills matter. He might not be the most technical fighter and he goes straight back defensively. But he’s so long and fights so tall most fighters won’t be able to expose his flaws.

[Sheldon312]

Let's not get carried away with the idea that he's completely talentless. He's got balance issues due to technique and an unusual frame. He can still punch quickly and fairly accurately. He's actually top 10 in many different stats (I know, I was surprised too).
Despite his issues, there aren't a whole lot of big men with greater skills right now.

Fury, Joshua, Parker, and Ortiz are head and shoulders above Wilder. To put it bluntly Wilder is a bigger, faster, more powerful version of Indongo

[Tutsa]

Not Ali

DW has improved last 3 years !!! Great jab just wish he keeps his punches more straight instead of those Loopers ... He hit BS with two nice straight rights that 1 2 in the first round was laser like

[zok310]

Guy is trying to sell his stock, can’t expect him to come out and say as a HW you need to be a FMW.
Either way he has more skills than people and now even himself give him credit for.

[boliodogs]

Of course heavyweights need skills to be the best. If all that was needed was power then the hardest punching heavyweight would always win and they don't always win. Defense, stamina, chin, timing and punching accuracy are important to heavyweights too and Wilder may find that out when he starts fighting better opponents like Ortiz.

[Sheldon312]

Of course heavyweights need skills to be the best. If all that was needed was power then the hardest punching heavyweight would always win and they don't always win. Defense, stamina, chin, timing and punching accuracy are important to heavyweights too and Wilder may find that out when he starts fighting better opponents like Ortiz.

You favor Ortiz in that match up?

[Sheldon312]

Guy is trying to sell his stock, can’t expect him to come out and say as a HW you need to be a FMW.
Either way he has more skills than people and now even himself give him credit for.

He was getting out boxed in Washington fight