Tag: Deontay Wilder

Deontay Wilder: Give me credit for thinking through adversity

Deontay Wilder said he used his wits to overcome a rocky seventh round in his first fight with Luis Ortiz.

Ring IQ is a term never seen anywhere near Deontay Wilder’s name. His right hand has been all the IQ he has ever needed. He throws it. It lands. It’s over. It’s a pretty simple formula. The proof rests in his astonishing record. Forty-two fights, 40 stoppages. Brilliant, no matter how you calculate it.

Yet Wilder says he doesn’t get the credit he deserves for thinking through adversity.

Example: A rocky seventh round in his victory over Luis Ortiz in their first fight on March 3, 2018 in Brooklyn.

“Yes, I remember getting buzzed,’’ Wilder said in a conference call this week for their rematch on November 23 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

But the buzz didn’t cloud his thinking, Wilder said. He bluffed, he said, but then thought better of it as Ortiz came after him. Wilder said he knew he had to maintain a safe distance, which meant staying close enough to eliminate the leverage Ortiz needed to deliver a finishing blow. For the round’s remaining 40 seconds, that’s what he did, allowing the heavyweight champion to go on to win by a 10th-round stoppage.

“I didn’t get no credit for the intellect that I had in the ring coming around in the seventh round,’’ Wilder said. “So I knew what I was doing and when the bell rung. You can see I knew exactly where I was. I went right back to my corner and I still was talking (expletive) going back there, too.’’

Wilder said he was never hurt in the pivotal round.

“I think people use hurt too much,’’ Wilder said. “They throw that (around) too much because they don’t understand the difference between buzzed and hurt. I advise anybody, if you are in boxing and you want to talk about boxing, experience some of things that we go through. Go in the ring, get hit and see what it feels like to get buzzed or maybe even get knocked out.

“But I understood everything that was going on with me. I was coaching myself internally. My inner voice was telling myself to keep going.’’

Ringside pundits didn’t see what was happening, Wilder said.

“I didn’t want to waste any unnecessary energy, because I wanted to be able to recover,’’ he said. “So,I didn’t want to use that much energy, and so that’s why I hit him anywhere I could, no matter where. It was so that the referee could understand that I’m very active. I’m aware and I can still fight. I don’t think I got enough credit for that.’’

Deontay Wilder building impressive legacy of consistency

Deontay Wilder’s nine successful defenses during a single title reign equals three greats at No. 6 on the all-time list.

The first word you might think of when Deontay Wilder is mentioned is power. Another word might also be appropriate: longevity.

Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers became known for their consistency over an extended period of time and Wilder is beginning to build the same sort of legacy. Wilder outpointed Bermane Stiverne to win his heavyweight title in January 2015 – close to five years ago – and has successfully defended nine times, including his draw with Tyson Fury last December.

That figure – nine successful defenses by a heavyweight titleholder in a single reign – equals Joe Frazier, Lewis and Vitali Klitschko at No. 6 on the all-time list. If Wilder beats Luis Ortiz in their rematch on Nov. 23, he will pull into a tie with Muhammad Ali at No. 5.

Before Lewis, you have to go back to the early 1980s to find such numbers. Larry Holmes made 16 consecutive successful defenses during a single reign between 1978 and 1983.

Wilder has successfully defended his title against Eric Molina, Johann Duhaupas, Artur Szpilka, Chris Arreola, Gerald Washington, Stiverne, Ortiz, Fury and Dominic Breazeale.

Here is the Top 10 (number of successful defenses in a single reign):

1. Joe Louis – 26
2. Larry Holmes – 19
3. Wladimir Klitschko – 18
4. Tommy Burns – 11
5. Muhammad Ali – 10
6T. Joe Frazier – 9
Lennox Lewis – 9
Vitali Klitschko – 9
Deontay Wilder – 9
10. Jack Johnson – 8

Joe Louis’ records for number of successful title defenses seem safe. U.S. Army via AP

Of course, Wilder, who has had only one reign as titleholder, is lower on the list of total successful defenses. Here’s that Top 10:

1. Joe Louis – 26
2. Wladimir Klitschko – 23
3. Muhammad Ali – 19
4. Larry Holmes – 19
5T. Lennox Lewis – 13
Vitali Klitschko – 13
7. Mike Tyson – 9
8T. Joe Frazier – 9
Deontay Wilder – 9
10. Evander Holyfield – 7

Deontay Wilder asks Luis Ortiz to clarify remarks about champ’s tactics

Deontay Wilder is asking Luis Ortiz to clarify remarks Ortiz made about Wilder tactics that “should be illegal and borderline criminal.’’

Deontay Wilder is asking Luis Ortiz to clarify remarks Ortiz made through a translator about Wilder tactics that “should be illegal and borderline criminal.’’

Wilder was surprised to hear what Ortiz said Tuesday during a conference call for their heavyweight rematch on Nov. 23 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

“I’ve never heard of that, so I’m going to think he’s being sarcastic,’’ Wilder said. “The only thing that’s criminal is me hitting people with the right hand and almost killing them.’’

Through his translator, Ortiz, a Cuban, questioned the punches thrown by Wilder, who knocked him down three times – once in the fifth round and twice in the 10th – in a Wilder victory on March 3, 2018 in Brooklyn. Ortiz is quoted as saying that Wilder threw clubbing blows on the top of the head. He also said Wilder used the inside of his hands in delivering his punches.

“Quite frankly, it should be illegal and borderline criminal,’’ Ortiz said. “You never know what Wilder is going to do and how he approaches his fights.’’

Wilder (41-0-1, 40 knockouts), usually a trash-talker, has praised Ortiz (31-1, 26 KOs) since the rematch was announced in mid-September.

“He needs to clarify that for me before I take it the wrong way,’’ said Wilder, who agreed to a dangerous rematch that some say puts his projected sequel with Tyson Fury in February in jeopardy. “We know when I get mad, it’s over with.

“Right now, I’m neutral with him. I’m very respectful. He should thank God that I blessed him a second time when I didn’t have to before I take this the wrong way and really want to beat his ass.’’

Tyson Fury answers Stipe Miocic’s challenge: ‘after I get Wilder out of the way’

Heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury said he’d be willing to fight UFC’s Stipe Miocic after Fury’s rematch with Deontay Wilder.

Undefeated former heavyweight boxing champion of the world Tyson Fury has accepted Stipe Miocic’s challenge and says he’d be happy to face the UFC heavyweight champ – inside the boxing ring.

Miocic (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) told ESPN on Monday that he had turned his sights from a trilogy bout with Daniel Cormier to a matchup with Fury (29-0-1 boxing), saying he’d be interested to face the 6-foot-9 Brit in the octagon or the boxing ring.

And, in an interview conducted by his management team MTK Global, Fury formally accepted the challenge and said he’d happily face Miocic in a boxing match a little further down the line, once he has dealt with his unfinished business with heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder.

“Stipe says he wants to box me; that would be a good fight for sure,” Fury said. “After I get Wilder out of the way, I’ll fight Stipe in a boxing match if he wants it. It would be a big crossover fight like Mayweather and McGregor.”

Fury has a return to the ring penciled in for February 2020 and hopes that Wilder will agree to face him in a rematch of their epic December 2018 clash that finished in a hotly-disputed split draw in Los Angeles. But, once Fury has faced “The Bronze Bomber” again, he said he’d be interested in a potential matchup with Miocic.

“I’m open to that fight, so he should come and see me,” Fury said. “It would be the same outcome for any of them: They’ll all get smashed.”

Fury’s comments made clear that he’d be looking to face Miocic under boxing rules, rather than the Unified Rules of MMA, but that doesn’t mean Fury has no respect for the sport. Indeed, he spent some time cracking the pads as he worked his elbows, knees and sprawls with Darren Till at the Liverpudlian’s training base at Kaobon Gym last week.

“It was exciting training with Darren Till and we get on like a house on fire,” said Fury, who shares the same management company with Till.

“He put me through a hard training session, and it was really good.”

Tyson Fury insists he’s weary of fame he constantly nurtures

Tyson Fury says he most comfortable and happy in the gym, not with a microphone in his face.

The Tyson Fury road show continues, although it’s beginning to sound as though it won’t stop in the very place it started.

It’s hard to say, because, well, Fury has so much to say. He has more to say than Charles Barkley. Pick the day or the hour, and he’ll say something else in a tour that is part Kardashian, part lousy lounge act and always uproarious.

In his latest missive, he says he’s unhappy with U.K. fans. He warns that he might just leave.

“They had their chance,’’ Fury told the U.K.’s Sunday Times. “They didn’t treat me well.’’

If that’s goodbye to the U.K., then watch out America. He might be saying more than just hello. He might be moving in.

“Over here (in the United States), I get treated like a superstar,” Fury said.

Who’s that 6-foot-9 heavyweight boxer and master showman behind that mask? Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Then, of course, there were reasons – mostly words – to wonder whether Fury is serious. A heavyweight with a solid feint is pretty good at the rhetorical head fake.

He told the Sunday Times that he is weary of celebrity while also hard at work generating as much of it as he can.

As he waits on a projected rematch with Deontay Wilder in February, Fury has been selling his autobiography, “Behind the Mask”. He has had a role in a pro wrestling show in Saudi Arabia and talked about going into mixed martial arts. He’s also doing his own four-part television documentary, “Meet The Furys”.

He’s doing he documentary, he said, “so people can see the real Tyson Fury.’’

But then, he said: “I hate fame.’’

Really.

“When I got to a big city it’s just a nightmare,’’ he said. “Torture. Honestly, the only bit I enjoy is going to the gym. That’s what makes me happy. Everything else is just what I’ve got to do.”

The only thing for certain: He’s doing it just about everywhere.

 

Oleksandr Usyk could face Derek Chisora next, says manager

Oleksandr Usyk said he wanted to fight for a title after his successful heavyweight debut but might face Derek Chisora first.

Oleksandr Usyk didn’t waste any time. He went from a predictable victory in his heavyweight debut to saying he wanted a shot at a title in his next fight.

Not so fast.

It’s beginning to sound as if Usyk is altering his timetable.

Usyk manager Egis Klimas said the former cruiserweight-turned-heavyweight would be interested in a bout with Derek Chisora. No title there. But Chisora would keep Usyk busy in what would also be a chance to get some more experience at his new weight.

Usyk plans to be Saudi Arabia on December 7 for the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Anthony Joshua rematch on DAZN. Three of the major belts are at stake in that one. The fourth is at stake on November 23 in champion Deontay Wilder’s rematch with Luis Ortiz in Las Vegas on pay-per-view.

“We don’t know what happens on December 7,’’ Klimas told Sky Sports. “But if it is possible to fight in between and not to wait for another six months, I think Chisora will be a good fight for Usyk.”

Usyk, who held all of the cruiserweight belts, is already the mandatory challenger for one of the heavyweight belts held by Ruiz, who upset Joshua on June 1 in New York.

Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn has said that the December 7 winner will probably vacate one of the belts.