Deontay Wilder successfully defended his WBC Heavyweight strap on Saturday night in Birmingham, Alabama, stopping Johann Duhaupas in the 11th round. The Alabama-native dominated but was made to work for the victory against a game, extremely tough opponent.
Anyone who can dish out enough punishment to swell the eye of Wilder is surely worthy of some praise. Especially one most critics and fans wrote off in an instant.
“Duhaupas did everything we expected him to do,” the undefeated Wilder told Boxing News. “We knew he was tough. We knew he was mentally tough. We knew he was going to come. That’s why I tell people, ‘You can’t criticize anyone you don’t know. The scariest people are the ones you don’t know. They’re the most dangerous ones.’ He’s got a hell of a chin too.
“Coming in here, when you’re fighting for a world title, it brings a different beast, a very different animal, out of fighters. They come to get it on whether they’re home or on the road. You have to give him credit. He did an excellent job and he definitely has my respect.”
But with Duhaupas proving to be another Heavyweight contender unable to withstand Wilder’s prolific power, the champ now looks to even bigger challenges. After facing mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin in early 2016, Wilder has his eyes on big – albeit currently injured – game.
“Hopefully, [Wladimir] Klitschko and I can fight sometime in the next year. We’ve got to get these mandatories out of the way first, so people have to stay patient. The key is to stay patient. This is a process and a business. That fight will surely come around as long as I keep winning, which I will, and as long as he keeps winning. That fight should come around real soon and we’ll have an undisputed world heavyweight champion, which will be me.
“Klitschko and I have sparred before. I’m the younger guy and the more time that goes by, that’s an advantage for me. Each and every fight, I prove a little bit more about what people don’t know about me. Of course I can take a punch. Of course I can punch and I can fight on the inside too. A lot of people don’t know that. I displayed a lot tonight and I’d like to thank my opponent for giving me the opportunity to show that tonight. Without his toughness and ability to keep coming, I wouldn’t have been able to display what I had.”
What are your thoughts on Deontay Wilder’s performance, fight fans? Does the champ still have some rough edges in need of smoothing out before he faces a solid foe like Povetkin? Or will he have learnt a great deal from this testing match-up?
Mark Phillips is the Head Staff Writer/Assistant Editor at BoxingBase.com, and provides worldwide news, coverage and analysis – he can be reached via our Contact Page.
