With advantages in height, reach, athleticism, power and age, Wilder had too much of everything for the game but outclassed Frenchman?
Saturday night at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, (35-0, 34 KOs), from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, stopped Johann Duhaupas (32-3, 20 KOs), from Abbeville, Somme, France, at 0:55 of round 11.
Fighting out of the blue corner in crimson and gold, Wilder drew first blood from the bridge of his opponent?s nose in the first round. With advantages in height, reach, athleticism, power and age, Wilder had too much of everything for his game but outclassed challenger.
But Duhaupas, fighting out of the red corner in black and brown trunks, has bottom to spare. He can take a punch. He caused the champion?s left eye to swell. He forced Wilder to dig deeper than he?s accustomed. He managed to keep a noncompetitive fight more or less interesting.
Duhaupas frequently pressed the action and drove Wilder to the ropes. But he isn?t skilled enough, nor did he hit hard enough, to discourage Wilder from letting his hands go. In addition to his jackhammer jab and booming right, Wilder has added an uppercut to his arsenal. That the Frenchman was able to eat those punches while staying upright speaks volumes about his toughness.
But when all was said and done, Wilder had landed 326 of 587 punches thrown (56%) to 98 of 332 (30%) for Duhaupas. It was less a fair fight than a public execution, even though the victim gave the executioner something to think about.
Wilder is still a work in progress, as has been the case since he turned pro almost seven years ago, and as he reminded us during his post-fight remarks. Being a late starter in a sport as unforgiving as boxing, while having won a heavyweight title in the process, is too significant an accomplishment to ignore. But Wilder, despite his perfect record, despite the adulation, looks like a fighter waiting to be beaten. It won?t be the likes of Johann Duhaupas that will do it. If it?s going to happen, and there?s always a possibility that it may never happen, it will be when he fights a top 10 fighter, or preferably another titleholder.
The only other titleholder in his division is Wladimir Klitschko (or Klitschkoff as Marv Albert called him on NBC). But with the 38-year-old Dr. Steelhammer out of commission with a calf injury, which has postponed his fight with Tyson Fury, Wilder?s options may be shrinking as his reputation grows.
Once Klitschko (or Klitschkoff) heals and has his fight with Fury, however many months that is from now, Wilder may get his shot at the Big Kahuna. But Fury needs an opponent and he needs an opponent now. Wilder wants to fight every few months. Why not step it up get it on with the Irish Gypsy? He doesn?t have a title, and perhaps that?s a drawback, but he?s big enough, and maybe even skilled enough, to add some spice to a moribund division?unless you and your team don?t think you?re ready for quite so stiff a challenge. Follow us on Twitter@boxing_com to continue the discussion
