I?m not going to lie, I was critic no. 1 when it came to Deontay Wilder.
I ridiculed his r?sum?, his quick rise to the top, some dubious-looking wins on the way up, as well as his WBC heavyweight title-winning effort against a strangely passive Bermane Stiverne back in 2015. I even blasted his reign, five or six defenses in, as smoke and mirrors, one that pitted him against second and third-tier challenges and a couple of tired retreads.
And when talking about his ring work, I rejected comparisons to George Foreman and other historical big-man bangers and wrote that his style more closely resembled the work of a ?drunken tranny in a White Castle parking lot brawl.?
Needless to say, I was not a true believer.
His dumb talk about wanting to kill someone in the ring, wanting ?a body? on his record didn?t exactly win me over. Neither did his talk of wanting upcoming opponent Dominic Breazeale?s son to come ?on the stage to look the man in the eye that?s gonna cripple his daddy.? Honestly, I don?t even think Wilder, himself, buys into the murderous tough talk. The ?Bronze Bomber? is play-acting and a rolling of the eyes is more appropriate than the outrage his words generated in some corners of the online Universo Pugilistico.
But putting silly tough guy posturing and a cynical rise to the top aside, Wilder has fought his way to honest-to-goodness respectability.
In his seventh defense, the Tuscaloosa, Alabama native was outboxed at times and buzzed by crafty Cuban banger Luis Ortiz, but he responded like a real fighter and like a real champion.
Against a legitimate top 5 heavyweight in Ortiz, Wilder proved himself to be more than a one-trick pony. He showed himself to be tough, unflappable, and brimming with self-confidence as he waded through tough times to eventually stop his much more savvy opponent.
In the fight after Ortiz, Wilder battled lineal champ Tyson Fury to a draw. Sure, it was a controversial draw that many felt should?ve gone the Irishman?s way, but scoring two knockdowns after being thoroughly outboxed for the first eight rounds of the fight?especially the brutal twelfth-round knockdown that might?ve taken out any other big man?was a testament to Wilder?s will to win and single-minded dedication to destruction.
So, along with a ?bomb blast? right hand and a pretty strong left, Wilder, as things have turned out, has a huge heart and a monstrous will to win. That?s enough to pull me off the ?let?s bash Deontay? dog pile.
He?s still an eyesore from a technical perspective and still looks like a career-ending knockout waiting to happen. But it has all been working for him and there?s only one heavyweight out there?Anthony Joshua?better than those Wilder has already faced. How much longer can we insist he ?sucks? and is inferior when he just keeps holding on to his title, knocking people down and out?
I wouldn?t call myself a Deontay Wilder fan right now, he?s just not my cup of tea when it comes to what I admire most in a prizefighter. But there?s just no denying anymore that what he does, however wrong it may be, is highly successful.
This Saturday, Wilder will be facing mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale on Showtime at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, making the ninth defense of his belt, and even if Breazeale is not Joshua, Fury, or even Ortiz or Whyte, there is still intrigue.
Wilder?s single-minded attack mindset and sloppy vulnerability make for thrilling fight night action against anyone. The man has become must-see TV and, in boxing, that?s always a good thing.
