WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder(40-0-1, 39 KOs) has successfully defended his belt eight straight times since winning the title in 2015. He has been pretty much favored in all of his title defenses, and in those fights, Wilder has stopped all of his opponents, except for Tyson Fury, who he dropped two times in a fight that was declared a draw.
However, his opponent on Saturday night, Dominic Breazeale, is not all that impressed by Wilder’s title defenses, and he believes that Wilder is getting too much credit.
“I don’t give Deontay much credit for his title defenses,” Breazeale said at a media workout in New York City on Wednesday. “People talk about his big right hand, but this is heavyweight boxing. I have a big right hand too. I’ve put many individuals down on the canvas. All Wilder does is talk. We’ll see who lands that right hand first on Saturday.”
Outside of Luis Ortiz and Fury, you can argue that Wilder’s opposition in those title defenses has not been all that great, and in fact, you can question Wilder’s opposition in general. He has not fought the best opposition, but it’s not all his fault. He tried to fight Alexander Povetkin, but the fight was canceled when Povetkin failed a drug test, and Wilder stepped up to fight Ortiz, who has been avoided by many in the division. Also, I do believe Wilder wants to fight unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, but the business of boxing is getting in the way. Furthermore, Wilder-Fury 2 was very close to happening, but Fury decided to align himself with Top Rank/ESPN, so we’ll have to wait a little for that one.
Will Breazeale be the guy who ends Wilder’s reign on Saturday night? He thinks so.
“I’ve been training like a caged-dog during camp, and it’s nice to be here now and see people’s reactions to the work I put in,” Breazeale said. “I’m confident in what I can do and what I bring to the table on Saturday night. It’s going to be fun.”
Photo:Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME
