WBC mandatory challenger Deontay Wilder (31-0, 31 KO’s) can’t wait to get his chance at fighting the winner of the May 10th fight between Chris Arreola (36-3, 31 KO’s) and Bermane Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KO’s). Deontay will be fighting the winner of that fight later on this year, and he doesn’t see either of them as having the size and/or the talent to make it out of the early rounds against him.
Surprisingly, the 6’7” Deontay sees the 6’1” Stiverne as being the easier fight for him due to Stiverne’s habit of staying on the outside and using his jab. Deontay feels he could bomb Stiverne out of there from long range and make easy work of him.
“Early knockouts, both early knockouts, man,” Deontay said to RingTV. “Stiverne and Arreola are both 6’2” or 6’3” at the most. I think that Stiverne would be the easier fight than Arreola….he [Arreola] don’t move his head enough and that could be dangerous when it comes to a guy like me…Stiverne would be much easier, because he likes to sit on the outside. That’s every big man’s dream.”
Deontay is probably right. Arreola would walk into a head shot and get stunned by Deontay. Once Arreola is hurt, Deontay would likely poleaxe him with another crushing right hand. This wouldn’t be one of those prolonged beatings like the slow as molasses former WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko inflicted on Arreola in 2009. It would be quick and brutal.
Arreola was hurt in his fights against Travis Walker and Eric Molnia, but those guys didn’t have the talent to finish Arreola off. Deontay would have too much size, power and quickness for Arreola to recover once he was hurt by a shot.
Stiverne has a fighting style learned from facing too many guys his own height. He hasn’t had to fight taller guys due to the soft matchmaking he’s had during his career, so he’ll be clueless when it comes time to face a tall fighter like Deontay. It might be a fair fight due to Stiverne’s lack of reach. This is a guy that is more of heavy cruiserweight than a genuine heavyweight.