The often used adage in the sport of boxing is, the last thing to go is the punching power. But Deontay Wilder, once one of the most genuinely feared punchers in the sport regardless of weight division, has not looked powerful or especially dangerous in quite some time. Yes, Wilder did return to winning ways in the summer, this when he stopped the little-known Tyrrel Herndon via seventh-round TKO, but this was no ice job, there was no chilling one-punch knockout the kind of which Wilder used to unleash with regularity.
Following his poor performances against Joseph Parker (L12) and Zhilei Zhang (TKO by 5), Wilder managed to get himself back in the win column, but he didn’t come close to looking like the destroyer he once was. So now, as he celebrates his 40th birthday today, we fans are wondering how much Wilder has left to offer, with us especially wondering how much power he has left.
Is Wilder’s Power Finally Fading?
Is Wilder all out of bullets or close to it, or can “The Bronze Bomber” return once again? There is talk from Wilder that he will return with a big fight in the new year, and there are still some potentially big fights out there for the former WBC heavyweight champion: Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou, Andy Ruiz, and some other possible fights. And one roll back the years punch/KO from Wilder in either of these fights, and he would be BACK in the opinion of some.
Maybe Wilder – who was darn entertaining to watch when he was doing his thing as WBC champ over the years 2015 to 2020, and even after he had lost his belt; with Wilder’s third fight/war/career damaging battle with Tyson Fury being an all-time great fight – can thrill us all again. But how much did those Fury wars take from Wilder? Wilder has also battled injuries and maybe he will never be able to recapture anything like what he once had.
The Last Thing to Go—or Already Gone?
A number of heavyweights managed to hold onto their hefty wallop either just before or just after hitting the age of 40 – George Foreman, Jersey Joe Walcott, Vitali Klitschko, Archie Moore, and others – and maybe, just maybe Wilder isn’t done yet. Yet after some 49 pro fights, Wilder at 40 may be too worn and too faded to be able to put out the lights of any elite fighters moving forward, with him finding out that his once deadly right hand doesn’t have anything like the effect on a foe it once had. Certainly, Herndon was able to take quite a bit from Wilder without being laid out in a heap.
So, who knows, maybe the last thing to go in the case of some fighters, Deontay Wilder being one of them, is not the KO power, but it is something else. Wilder still has enormous heart, and he still has conditioning and fitness. Now, if/when he fights again, Wilder might need to show us all that he has the ability to overcome more naturally talented fighters even if he cannot rely solely on the raw, get-out-of-jail, one-punch power that bailed him out a more than a few times during his prime.
It could prove to be a mighty task.