Wilder has been WBC king for almost two years, dethroning and outclassing Bermane Stiverne in January 2015, but has received criticism for the selection of his challengers since his coronation. Before thrashing Arreola, 31-year-old Wilder halted Eric Molina, Johann Duhaupass, and Artur Szpilka – three contenders largely unknown to the boxing public before they challenged the “Bronze Bomber”. And with Wawrzyk – originally rumoured as a Wilder opponent back in August – lined up for his fifth defence, Deontay could be set for a backlash again.
“I don’t believe ‘You’re going to suck because I don’t know you’, that’s just the ignorance of your average boxing fan,” Deontay Wilder responded. “Some of these fans feel like they got to have heard of the fighters or they got to be a known name – but sometimes you don’t know anything about the best fighters. If you look back from now until way back in time, most of the foreign guys you knew about until they made a big splash. Nobody knew who Manny Pacquiao was until he made a name for himself. I wish fans would stop criticising fighters because it takes a lot to get in the ring.”
