WATCHING Deontay Wilder box, he does seem to do a lot wrong. He throws wide arm shots, reckless swings. He lunges forward, off balance, he jumps off his feet, he gets caught. And yet it seems to work. Heโs knocked out everyone heโs boxed, even if he needed a second run at Bermane Stiverne, hammering him easily enough inside the first round when they rematched this month.
Youโd think Anthony Joshua, the unified IBF and WBA, would be too big, too technical and too skilful for the confident American. Yet thereโs an argument for why Wilder is a real threat. David Price, the former British champion and Olympic medallist, is as shrewd an analyst of heavyweight boxing as there is. He explained to Boxing News why Wilder is a danger.
โFor what itโs worth, before I watched Joshua against [Carlos] Takam, I fancied Joshua to wipe the floor with Wilder. But now I think Wilder at long range would beat Joshua to the punch. Joshuaโs mid range and close range work is brilliant. But at length he doesnโt seem to get his shots off as quickly and I think Wilder would be in with a good chance of knocking him out,โ Price said. โNot only that, Anthony Joshua is a textbook boxer and conventional textbook fighters are easier to read unlike Deontay Wilder, who will do things out of the ordinary that youโre not expecting.
โHe does things bit unorthodox. If youโve been fighting decent level fighters who do everything as textbook, itโs quite easy to read. You throw a jab, then you throw a right hand. You see it coming. You read it a bit quicker then what Deontay Wilder does with them mad swings especially. Interesting all the same. I think Wilder could beat him. Thatโs just my opinion.โ
But Wilder, the WBC heavyweight champion, and Joseph Parker, the WBO titlist, need to be realistic to get their chance at fighting Anthony Joshua. โTheyโre both bringing something to the table which Joshua wants and needs, so theyโve got a point. But they have to admit the main money man in this is Joshua. Parkerโs willing to concede 10% extra to Joshua, I think thatโs out of the question. I donโt think he generates anywhere near as much as what Joshua generates and if he believes he can beat him, whatโs 10% in the grand scheme of things with that much money? Iโd just go for it. You donโt know many people are wanting their cut out of Joseph Parkerโs money and thatโs why theyโre trying to get that extra bit,โ Price said.
โWith Wilder, if Wilder was bigger in America, and this is why I donโt think the fight will happen soon, because I think theyโre going to try and get the fight and the fighters more known in America, Wilder, Joshua. Because the pay-per-view in America will take it to another level and I think that fight wonโt happen until itโs pay-per-view in America and youโre talking the McGregor-Mayweather numbers. Thatโs what you could be aiming for. But then thereโs the fact that theyโre both heavyweights and anything can happen. In the meantime, while theyโre trying to build it, one could get knocked out.โ
If Price were to get the fight with Tyson Fury that he wants, a victory could catapult him into the big time and maybe even a heavyweight world title fight himself. The Liverpudlian though is cautious. โI come back, Iโll be happy to win a British title,โ he says, โbut letโs see what happens.โ