It’s no secret to the sporting world that boxing is looking for a new face after the retirement of Floyd Mayweather (that is, assuming he stays retired). It’s also no secret that while the welterweight and middleweight divisions are easily the most competitive in today’s boxing landscape while boasting names like Keith Thurman, Gennady Golovkin and Amir Khan, America is and always will be a heavyweight nation. We love our heavyweight champions: Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson. These are legends that have gone down in American Sports history. 

The problem with this nowadays, is Ukranian Wladamir Klitschko and his brothers have ruled the heavyweight division with Mayweather-esque dominance for the better part of a decade, silencing overmatched contender after overmatched contender with relative ease.  However, that reign may be coming to an end and it may be at the hands of one of Klitchko’s former sparring partners: Deontay Wilder. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama-born Wilder is anything but an overmatched competitor. Wilder is rising quickly through the pound-for-pound boxing ranks after winning the WBC heavyweight title in January, and as he rises so does American interest in boxing once again. 

But who is he? What else is there to know about this American boxing phenom?

Well, lets start with the basics.  Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder is the World Boxing Council’s current heavyweight champion and was a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which, predictably, led to the nickname. Wilder is also the last American to medal in Olympic boxing, and the first American heavyweight champion in ten years. He boasts a jaw-dropping record of 34 wins with 0 losses, and more impressively he holds a stunning 97 percent knockout percentage. That’s right. Do the math and you’ll see that he’s won 33 of his 34 professional fights by knockout. Additionally, out of those 33 knockouts only one occurred after the fourth round. So, yeah, the guy has some serious punching power.   

But what about his road to the title? After impressive wins over names like Malik Scott and Siarhei Liakovich, Wilder earned a title fight vs. Haitian-born Canadian fighter Bermane Stiverne, who himself had just earned the belt. Wilder handled Stiverne with relative ease through 12 rounds, out-punching and out-maneuvering the physically overmatched Stiverne who would be hospitalized due to severe dehydration after the fight. The "Bronze Bomber" would win easily via a unanimous decision, the only time in his career that his fate was left to the judges. Since then, Wilder has had one title defense, a ninth-Round KO of Eric Molina in his home state of Alabama. 

Wilder is slated to make his second defense this Saturday on NBC, the first time in 30 years that a world heavyweight title bout is broadcast on a major network in primetime. That’s right, for the first time since Larry Holmes defeated Carl Williams in a heavyweight title, this match will appear on broadcast television. His opponent, Frenchman Johann Duhaupas, boasts a record of 32-2 with 20 knockouts and has never been knocked out in his boxing career, whether amateur or professional. This makes for an interesting “unstoppable force vs. immovable object” scenario, as Duhaupas doesn’t get knocked out, and Wilder seems to ONLY knock out. 

Despite this, Duhaupas has been criticized as an opponent of Wilder with some saying he doesn’t have enough in the tank to give Wilder more of a test than Molina or Stiverne did.  However, from a business perspective the fight makes sense: Duhaupas is respected and well-traveled enough to give Wilder at least some trouble, but the chances of the 34-year-old Frenchman pulling off an upset over America’s next prize fighter are slim to none. Wilder gets publicity from his primetime fight, but his winning narrative is kept intact. 

Wilder seems poised to propel to the forefront of American boxing with his upcoming fight. More importantly, a win puts him on a fast track to a meeting with Wladamir Klitschko, the man who currently possesses every other major belt in the heavyweight division. Wilder will probably need one or two more big fights after Duhaupas to seal the deal, but if all goes according to plan the American public could be witnessing a Klitschko-Wilder heavyweight championship bout as early as next year. All that is left to do until then is sit back and enjoy the ride, starting with Wilder-Duhaupas this Saturday on NBC.

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About the author
Marc McCormack
Marc hails from Chicago, Illinois. He is an avid White Sox, Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks, and Fire fan, while also supporting the likes of Barcelona and Everton. Marc is currently a at Illinois State University, where he studies English while pursuing a History Minor. He loves running the read-option in Madden, and shamelessly parks the bus in FIFA.