Wilder aiming to becoming the new face of the heavyweight division…
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Bermane Stiverne defends his WBC world heavyweight title against Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas on Saturday, and it promises to be an exciting and explosive bout.
After defeating Chris Arreola for a second time last year, Stiverne (24-1-1, KOs 21) was crowned the WBC champion and created history in the process by becoming the first Haitian-born heavyweight champion of the world.
The 36-year-old is a heavy-hitter in his own right and he undoubtedly brings excitement to the ring as well as animosity after insisting that Wilder is a “clown” and that it will be a brutal fight as he shows him “this isn’t the WWE”.
As expected, he insists that training camp has gone perfectly and he has trained to go the distance, despite many seeing this bout falling way short of the 12th round.
Nevertheless, Stiverne will be in no mood to relinquish his belt and he represents the biggest test of his opponent’s career thus far.
Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) has yet to arrive on the heavyweight boxing scene on a global scale, but an explosive win on Saturday night will put him on the map as not only a world champion, but also as the new face of American heavyweight boxing.
The US has been crying out for a dominate force in the division for years, and Wilder is adamant that he is the man to emerge as their saviour. With a jovial personality and a way with words to boot, the 29-year-old is the complete package but he has many questions to answer in his next fight.
Given his athleticism, speed and power, there is no denying that the bronze medallist at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 has all the tools necessary to be a threat to any fighter. However, throughout his career, he has faced the same criticism regarding the level of his opposition having never been further than four rounds.
Wilder can only beat what is put in front of him and his management team clearly believe that he has progressively worked his way up through the ranks which has now delivered him a title shot. The unbeaten American inspires fear into his opponents before the fight has even begun with his knockout power, and he will be hoping to land plenty of bombs on Stiverne.
“I need to let this beast inside of me out. I am so ready for this fight. We are bringing back the heavyweight division,” Wilder told the crowd as he arrived in Vegas on Tuesday.
“Once I knock this guy out it will be on to the next guy for me. He will definitely go down, I’m going to hurt him bad.”
Ultimately, this is a fight not to be missed. After years of frustration and lack of interest in the heavyweight division, these two men have the capabilities of hurting one another. What makes the bout so intriguing is that we are likely to get the answers to our questions. Can Wilder take a punch? Can he knockout a fighter with the pedigree of Stiverne? Will he be able to go the distance if necessary? All will be revealed in Vegas on Saturday night.
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