?I?m the most frustrated guy around,? said Wilder. ?I don?t understand. The best are supposed to fight the best, right? I?ve always done that??
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is not a man of few words. When discussing his November 4 rematch against mandatory challenger Bermane Stiverne, a late replacement for bad boy Luis Ortiz, Wilder expressed his frustration at failing to get the best of the best in the ring.
?I?m the most frustrated guy around,? said Wilder. ?I don?t understand. The best are supposed to fight the best, right? I?ve always done that. I called Klitschko out years ago.?
We share Wilder?s frustration. But despite his record, despite the many men he has knocked out, Wilder will be judged, not by those he called out but by those he has managed to fight. The hard-hitting Alabaman cannot be blamed for his challengers? cheating ways. But he cannot be celebrated as a great heavyweight champion until he fights other men worthy of that title.
?What other heavyweight is doing what I do?? Wilder asked. ?What other heavyweight has power like me? I don?t have to put you out in punches in bunches. I don?t have to do that. One punch. Goodnight.?
The day may come when Wilder is revered, but a steady diet of soft touches won?t do it. Take, for example, Bermane Stiverne.
Please.
?I?m happy that I?m fighting Stiverne because he?s my mandatory,? Wilder said. ?I can finally get him out the way so I?ll be a free man.?
The more freedom the better, especially if it means better fights against better competition.
?This is the story of my life. Every situation that I?m put in, I try to be optimistic about. It?s easy to appreciate the good. But when the bad comes, some people don?t know how to manage that.
?People make so many excuses for my career. The one who is actually trying to make a legacy out of their career, he?s the only one that?s not complaining. The people who don?t have to get in the ring and endure this suffering are the ones that complaining.?
Wilder could stop complaining about ?the ones that complaining? to set a good example.
But there are better examples he might set, especially for aspiring fighters, if he?s so inclined.
