The wait for an American heavyweight champion is over.
Deontay Wilder turned in a star-making performance has he bludgeoned Bermane Stiverne over twelve one-sided rounds.
Wilder answered a lot of questions about his ability to go twelve rounds and whether or not he could take a punch. In control for the majority of the fight, Wilder took the WBC belt with scores of 120-107, 119-108, and 118-109.
"I'm so excited. I'm excited to bring this belt back to America, officially," Wilder said. "It's going to mean a lot."
No one knew exactly how good Wilder was. Critics pointed to the fact that he had been knocked down earlier in his career and that he had never been past four rounds. Not to mention a fight resume that contains 32 no-hopers.
"I think I answered a lot of questions tonight," Wilder said. "We knew we could go 12 rounds. We knew we could take a punch. All the hard work was done in camp. I had fun. I'm just excited."
Wilder (33-0, 32 KOs), 29, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, became the first American to win a heavyweight title since Shannon Briggs, who lost in his first defense to Russia's Sultan Ibragimov seven months later. Since then, the belts have resided in Europe, mainly with the Klitschko brothers.
"He proved everyone wrong," said Jay Deas, who co-trains Wilder with Mark Breland. "Can he go 12 rounds? Yes, he can. Does he have a power punch? Yes, he does. Can he beat adversity? Yes, he can. Can he be the next heavyweight champion of the world? And yes, he is."
Bermane Stiverne, however, showed very little head movement or an understanding of how to cut off the ring.
"I think I spent too much time in the gym," said Stiverne, who lives in Las Vegas, grew up in Canada and is the only Haitian-born heavyweight titleholder. "We started training in August. I was ready in November, and then we had to cut things back a little bit. That had an effect on why I wasn't myself tonight."
While Wilder landed 227 of 621 punches (37 percent), according to CompuBox statistics, Stiverne landed just 110 of 327 (34 percent).
"Wilder definitely won it. He did a great job," said Don King, Stiverne's promoter. "He was having fun. I'm very surprised he won so easily. But you can't win a fight without throwing punches. This is not a waltz. I've seen it happen many times before. It's just the way it goes. I have to take off my hat to Deontay. Stiverne wasn't active enough. All praise to Deontay Wilder."
Stiverne is a good puncher, however, and he tested Wilder's chin on a few occasions.
"I definitely showed the world what I am capable of," Wilder said. "I really didn't think it would go four rounds, but he could take a great punch, so I thought we might be in for the long haul."
They began to trade and jaw at each other in the second round before Wilder appeared to stun Stiverne in the final seconds. Stiverne lurched forward and they wound up toppling to the mat, but referee Tony Weeks did not rule a knockdown.
Hard punches were exchanged in the fifth round, and the 6-foot-7, 219-pound Wilder wobbled the 6-2, 239-pound Stiverne with a right hand. When Stiverne connected with a clean left hook in the sixth, Wilder did not budge.
As the fight wore on, Wilder began to move more and Stiverne was obviously frustrated, shouting at Wilder in the sixth round, "Stand here and fight!"
Wilder had a huge seventh round, hurting Stiverne and sending him into the ropes with a right hand. In fact, Wilder landed several of them and Stiverne somehow managed to stay on his feet even though Wilder outlanded him 23-4 in the round.
"We knew he would try to come, and we knew he was tough. He got a great chin," Wilder said. "I appreciate him accepting the challenge. I just wanted to show the world what Deontay Wilder was capable of. I don't want anyone to doubt me anymore."
Stiverne continued to walk into Wilder's right hand in the ninth. His head would snap, and his eyes were swelling. Clearly in need of a knockout, Stiverne tried to press Wilder in the 12th round, but he looked way too fatigued.
"I felt 100 percent, but I couldn't cut the ring off like I usually do," Stiverne said. "I have to go back and look and see what happened and what mistakes I made. I was throwing hard punches, but I could only throw two of them at a time. I have to figure out what happened. I wasn't able to do what I wanted to do in the ring tonight. I don't want to take anything away from him. He fought a great fight, but I was not ready."
When the fight was over, Wilder shouted to the Showtime cameras, "Who can't box? Who can't box?"
What's next for Wilder?
"I want to bring excitement back to the heavyweight division," he said. "And I don't want to sit around. I want to fight four times a year. Whoever's ready, I'm ready."
DEONTAY WILDER BOXING DVD CAREER SET
Comments