Deontay Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs) will be back in the ring for a voluntary defense on 1/16 against Polish slugger Artur Szpilka (20-1, 15 KOs) in a fight televised by Showtime Championship Boxing from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The opponent isn’t as interesting as some of the names that were mentioned as possibilities like Shannon Briggs, Amir Mansour and Vyachyeslav Glazkov.
The 26-year-old Szpilka is at least a contender with a top 10 ranking at No.8 by the World Boxing Council, so he has that going for him at least. This is a warm-up fight for Wilder to get him ready for his mandatory title defense against Alexander Povetkin. The idea is that Wilder mows down Szpilka and then takes the momentum to the Povetkin fight to do the same with him.
Povetkin and Szpilka are about the same size and have equal punching power. The difference is that Povetkin has better boxing skills, superior experience and the far superior chin than Szpilka. However, Szpilka is a young fighter at 26, and is a decade younger than Povetkin. For that reason, Szpilka should be able to give Wilder a good fight for as long as it lasts.
“You have one of the biggest Polish populations around the Barclays Center and in the New York/New Jersey area, and whatever you want to say about Szpilka, the guy is rugged and a brawler,” promoter Lou Dibella said to ESPN.com about Szpilka. “He won’t stink the joint out. He’ll make a good fight.”
Szpilka should give Wilder a better fight than his last opponent Johann Duhaupas did last September. Wilder didn’t have to deal with much in terms of punching power from Duhaupas in that fight. Against Szpilka, it could be a more challenging fight for Deontay unless he’s able to KO him before he gets his offense in gear. That might be the best move for Deontay because he doesn’t need to have his chin checked in this fight.
Wilder’s management were speaking with Amir Mansour and Shannon Briggs in looking for an opponent for him. It’s unclear whether those two guys were ever serious possibilities for Wilder. They might have been decoys for Wilder in the negotiations in order to bring Szpilka down in price.
This will be Wilder’s third defense of his WBC heavyweight title in facing Szpilka. Wilder wants to beat Povetkin and then unify the heavyweight titles by beating the winner of the Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko fight.