Deontay Wilder is a most exciting fighter, a very powerful and dangerous fighter and a very determined fighter. By his own admission, the 39-0(38) KO-King is also wild, but at the same time “very hard to prepare for.”
But Wilder has yet to convince fans he is the best heavyweight, puncher or otherwise, in the world today. In contrast, by the time of his very first world title fight, Mike Tyson was already being looked at by many as THE best heavyweight on the planet. And just recently – via a short interview with TMZ Sports – Wilder, upon being asked the question, how would he do against the ’86 version of “Iron Mike,” swiftly replied how he would have “Kicked his ass!”
Fight fans everywhere – everywhere – are certain to take offence at this bold claim, and most (including me) feel the Tyson of that time would have iced Deontay quickly. Very quickly.
But in terms of Dream Fights (or Nightmare Fights if you prefer!) how about Wilder against these guys!
David Tua:
Tua, a short and stocky powerhouse with an absolutely granite chin the likes of which the tall and powerful Wilder has never, ever seen, would, in all likelihood, have mowed down the raw, wild and aggressive-minded champ. On the one hand it might not last very long at all, on the other there would be the chance that Wilder, with his huge reach advantage, would try to box Tua and keep him at a safe distance for all 12 rounds the way Lennox Lewis did; but it’s ever so easy to picture Tua blasting clean through Wilder’s suspect chin in a nasty and ever so violent manner.
Ike Ibeabuchi:
Ibeabuchi, the teak-tough warrior with boxing skills, who out-slugged Tua in THE greatest heavyweight rumble of the ’90s, would have given Wilder absolutely all he could handle. Possessing seemingly limitless stamina and thoroughly lethal one-punch power (see “The President’s” chilling stoppage of the hard to hit Chris Byrd) along with a chin that never once let him down before his unstable mental state unfortunately did, Ibeabuchi may well have taken Wilder’s heart. This one would be brutal, maybe even career-ending.
Andrew Golota:
Golota, the single most unpredictable heavyweight of his era this side of Mike Tyson, might have jumped right on Wilder and got the job done, or “The Foul Pole” might have been intimidated by “The Bronze Bomber” and taken out in short order. This fight, between two bangers, would result in don’t-blink entertainment. A guaranteed KO either way, Wilder-Golota would likely come come down to the mental state of the two men.
Razor Ruddock:
Ruddock, a genuinely nasty puncher with bludgeoning KO power, was almost as raw and as wild as Wilder has been at times. This one is simple: whoever lands first with a bomb wins. It might go a round, it might go a few rounds, but no way on God’s earth would Ruddock-Wilder have a prayer of going the distance!
Now, getting back to reality, can Wilder beat Anthony Joshua and lay claim to being the best heavyweight of today?