Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Over The Top Criticism Of Deontay Wilder

Criticism Of Deontay Wilder - Getty
Getty

Sports fans can be a funny breed as far as athlete's adulation goes. Boxing's no different of course.

We expect the best from champions and when onc doesn't stack up in our eyes, criticism often flows as freely as tap water - especially in the new online age we live in.

But sometimes, those harsh words can be a bit misplaced, if the truth be told.

Recent criticism has come in spadefuls from some boxing fan circles for America's first heavyweight champion in years, the reigning WBC belt holder from Alabama - Deontay Wilder.

Such sentiment is a little over the top, if you ask me.

Wilder certainly does have a number of names on his record from early on that not many people would recognize, but he's done everything that's been asked of him so far, without losing once.

For me though, there's two main reasons why I believe Wilder is a quality fighter (when he fights to his best) and if he keeps improving has the ability to be a good champion, at the least.

The first stems from an interview I watched not long ago from former WBA heavyweight champion of the world David Haye.

The outspoken Londoner was speaking about times he had been hit hard, and straight away Wilder came up in conversation.

The UK man spoke of how the hardest he had ever actually been hit was in fact by Wilder, in sparring too (with big gloves on).

It wasn't just his power that he was complimentary of however.

He also sung the praises of Wilder's ability in the gym, and noted that he thought the Alabama native would go on to great things in his career.

Like in any profession, getting a testimonial from a fellow professional or peer like that is almost unbeatable.

Journalists, commentators and fans can talk, but when a fighter as talented as Haye who is still active himself says such thing about a heavyweight's talent, the comments must be respected.

The main reason for me though as to why I believe Wilder has what it takes to become a very good American heavyweight champion (at least in patches, possibly over different reigns) is the stellar performance he turned in against Bermane Stiverne, not long ago.

Many forget that Stiverne was been touted as an outstanding heavyweight across the boxing landscape, and had all the capabilities in the world to ask questions of Wilder.

Those questions were things like, what's Wilder's chin like? What's his stamina like? Can he go the 12 rounds? Can he dig in when the going gets tough? Does he have any boxing ability or is it just crude, raw power?

In some regards, it could be debated that all of the above questions were answered at least in some way via the Stiverne performance.

He showed he could go the distance, took some nice shots to prove his chin, but above everything for me, displayed a highly impressive jab and boxing ability (under pressure).

Since winning the title however, he's had some tough encounters from foes that were not perhaps on paper expected to test him.

That happens, though. That's boxing. You can't have the best fight of your life every time.

Would you expect your favorite football, basketball or baseball team to be on fire every single game all season long?

Of course not.

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