Deontay Wilder has an enviable record but the defining period of his career starts against Tyson Fury
Deontay Wilder has one of the best records in boxing yet his biggest challenges lie ahead of him as he bids to prove himself as the leading heavyweight on the planet. It begins this week with Tyson Fury.
There is little doubt that Wilder is currently the best heavyweight in North America and with a 40-0 record he has beaten just about everything his native continent has to throw at him.
The Bronze Bomber has dismantled 40 opponents with ease, beating 39 of them by knockout or technical knockout, but he is yet to prove himself against the growing number of heavyweight challengers across the pond.
The 33-year-old has established himself as an elite fighter, known for the power in his punch, and has beaten the likes of Luis Ortiz, Bermane Stiverne twice, and Eric Molina – who also lost to Anthony Joshua. But his list of victims lacks many names that boxing followers in Europe would consider significant.
On paper, he ranks among the best the sport has seen, and sits just 10 fights off of Floyd Mayweather’s all-time record of 50-0 – something that, given Wilder’s age, is not beyond the realms of possibility.
But as the opposition continues to get more difficult, there is an increasing chance that the Alabama-born boxer will become undone.
Hard hitter
He has spent the last year talking the talk, but on Saturday in Los Angeles he will have the opportunity to prove himself against one of the division’s toughest propositions in Tyson Fury.
Standing at 6ft 9in, Fury is the only man in the division taller than Wilder, who is himself 6ft 7in. When the pair come together there are likely to be fireworks but it will be a clash of styles.
While Wilder is a hard hitter, as demonstrated by 39 fights ending early, Fury is more of a technician. He has still claimed 19 of his 27 wins by knockout though; such is the nature of a division that involves the best punchers in the world with considerable weight behind them.
Fury is the younger fighter at 30, and with 13 fewer bouts under his belt, the less experienced one. He has fought in a number of different countries already, however, and claimed a huge scalp in Wladmir Klitschko, someone Wilder has never faced and likely never will.
While Fury has fought in the UK, Ireland, Germany – where he beat Klitschko – and North America, all but one of Wilder’s outings have been in his homeland.
If he is to establish himself as the greatest heavyweight of this era, then he will have to venture outside of his comfort zone to face some of the best that Britain and Europe can offer.
Mammoth task
Anthony Joshua is the most obvious name on that list and the clamour for a unification fight between the pair has been rumbling for some time. It could happen as soon as April if a deal can finally be reached.
There are other opponents, though, who would also allow Wilder to raise his stock: Dillian Whyte, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin, all of whom have been defeated by Joshua already.
Jarrell Miller and Oleksandr Usyk, who this month beat Tony Bellew by knockout, are other names entering the fray as possible opponents for Joshua, or Wilder, and these big fights are the kind of clashes that separate the best from the rest.
But first up is the mammoth task of overcoming Fury. The self-proclaimed lineal heavyweight champion has only fought twice since his two-year hiatus due to mental health issues, but he never lost his belts in the ring and remains an unknown quantity after two mismatch fights.
Both men deserve credit for taking the risk to face each other, but it is current WBC belt holder Wilder who has the most to lose.
It is a sign that he is willing to start taking risks after 10 years of slogging it out in front of small crowds as Americans lost interest in the division.
Victory would be a landmark moment for Wilder, but should he beat Fury he must continue to step up and face the best in the business. Only then we will know how good he truly is.