We will see who marches to whose marching orders, but for now, Wilder suddenly seems to have become the owner of the ?A Side? status?
Off their most recent fights, it?s hard (for me) to assign solid ?A-Side? status to Anthony Joshua were he to meet Deontay Wilder in the relatively near future. Clearly, the buzz has been building and now, finally, it?s high time to get it on. After an overall super year of boxing, this would continue the ascent.
Gravitas becomes important in terms of where the fight would take place and, most importantly, what the financial terms of the arrangement would be. Heretofore, most observers believed Anthony had that leverage to call the shots as he rampaged through the ranks and then stopped Wladimir Klitschko in a tremendous fight before a monster throng of 90,000 fans in the UK. While AJ showed great heart and resilience, he also showed that he is vulnerable if hit flush. Joshua?s trainer Rob McCracken even mentioned he was 100 per cent sure his fighter was on course to lose to Klitschko when the Ukrainian knocked him down in the sixth round. But Anthony rallied and won the epic battle.
The official scorecards at the time were as follows: Ringside judges Don Trella and Nelson Vazquez had Joshua ahead by scores of 96-93 and 95-93, respectively, at the time of the stoppage. Steve Weisfeld had Klitschko ahead 95-93.
?I?m not perfect but I?m trying,? said Joshua, who also had some of gracious words for the fallen but valiant Klitschko.
Ever the classy sportsman, Klitschko had this to say: ?Two gentlemen fought each other and he was better today than I. It?s really sad that I didn?t make it tonight. I was planning to do it but it didn?t work. But all due respect to Anthony. Congratulations.?
Fast forward
Notwithstanding his apologists, on October 28, 2017, Anthony Joshua lost some of his glitter when he was made to work in beating a somewhat obscure 36-year-old French substitute for Kubrat Pulev by the name of Carlos Takam last week. Testifying to AJ?s tremendous drawing power, the fight took place in front of 80,000 rabid fans in Cardiff.
Joshua won by stoppage, albeit somewhat premature, and failed to KO his opponent who bled badly from cuts over both eyes. Nevertheless, he controlled every aspect of the bout, but he boxed more cautiously than usual and came in overweight which did not work in his favor. Maybe a broken nose as a result of a Takam headbutt slowed AJ down, but it surely helped to make this a more grueling, grinding, and tough fight than was anticipated?one on which the big Englishman could not seem to cut off the ring and trap his opponent setting up a spectacular finish that the fans craved.
Most importantly, this bout showed that Anthony Joshua is mortal and has a few?not many?but a few flaws. It also showed that if Deontay Wilder (38-0) could do something spectacular in his rematch with Bermane Stiverne at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on November 4, the possibility of who might be favored if The Bronze Bomber fought the undefeated AJ might be up for grabs. Joshua has been viewed as being the better fighter and rightful champion, but it?s far from unanimous and there are plenty who think Wilder would be his stumbling block.
Wilder vs. Stiverne
The Bronze Bomber was schedule to fight Alexander Povetkin last year and Luis ?King Kong? Ortiz, but both proved to be juicers, and this put Wilder in rage mode and poor Stiverne would become the outlet for his rage.
A perfectly proportioned 6?7? Wilder met the challenge of being spectacular as he rendered a vicious, definitive, and scary beating on the only fighter able to go the distance with him. He floored an overweight Stiverne three times en route to the win.
Wilder walked to Stiverne and drilled him with a right hand to the head and knocked him down. This came about a minute into the fight.
Wilder then did it again as a blubbery Stiverne shook his head. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr., who has a reputation for allowing fights to last too long, could have ended matters then, but as is his troubling wont he allowed it continue.
Wilder blasted away at Stiverne again and unloaded a wicked multi-punch combination including a right, left, right, left. Stiverne, who was now on another planet, collapsed along the ropes and then fell face forward while Mercante finally ended the short but scary massacre.
This was not the windmill version of Wilder that?s has sometimes appeared in the past. This was a straight-forward bomber. This was a scary Wilder.
There won?t be a trilogy.
Wilder vs. Joshua
Team Wilder does not want an interim fight; they want to fight Joshua next in what could be the biggest heavyweight fight in recent memory. Whether AJ?s promoter Eddie Hearn and Joshua are ready to make the Wilder fight currently remains to be seen. In fact, disappointedly, Hearn wants the Bronze Bomber to face Dillian Whyte in Feburary. If anything is a test of who has the juice, this could be it.
Wilder?s promoter Lou DiBella?s response to this is predictable and to the point: ??we don?t have to march to his marching orders. We don?t have to go to England because he says so.?
He adds, ?Hearn is talking bull about Deontay needing to build up his profile. Really? He?s the scariest heavyweight on the planet. And who the f*** is Whyte? He lost to Joshua. He almost lost to Dereck Chisora. He?s just looked like a sleeping pill against Robert Helenius. No one in America knows who the hell he is.?
For his part, Joshua may fight Joseph Parker before a Wilder encounter. Names like Breazeale and Whyte are also bantered about, but it?s Wilder vs. Joshua that the fans want to see and all of a sudden, the ?A-Side? might have shifted a tiny bit.
?I don?t think he wants to fight me as bad as I want to fight him,? said Wilder
DiBella adds: ?Wilder vs. Joshua is the fight everyone wants, between the two best heavyweights in the world. I have nothing but respect for AJ but Deontay is the hardest puncher on the planet and when he hits him flush like Wladimir Klitschko hit him he?ll be asleep, not getting up.?
In the end, we will see who marches to whose marching orders, but for now, Wilder suddenly seems to have become the owner of the ?A Side? status.
Suddenly, and in a surprising turnaround, he seems to have the clout, juice, leverage, and gravitas.
What?s your take?
