Seeing as to how he doesn't rely on a particular skillset and his explosive power will likely never diminish how would you identify when he was prime?
How can you say his power will likely never diminish? What do you base that on? Did you ever watch an older guy throw a baseball? The "spring" in their arm is gone. Remember Obama throwing out the first pitch at some game or another? The throw was pathetic. No explosiveness left. Age. It's a thing.
Wilder throws with full body explosiveness combined with reaction time. Not the same thing as someone like Foreman who relied on body composition
Yeah. I thought someone would bring that up. Hopkins fought elite level into his 40s. .... But...those guys are aberrations. Outliers. They are not most people. It's no guarantee Wilder will carry or be able to utilize his power into his late 30s and 40s.
But...sometimes what happens is they can't pull the trigger. They cant get in position or react to openings as quickly to utilize what power they have.
I consider him a little past prime actually, although I only base that on his last fight with Ortiz. He had a pathetic output in that fight, just walked around posing and looking for a window to land his right hand. Looked like he was afraid of gassing, like his tank is diminishing. But then again, maybe he just chose to wait for Ortiz to get tired. I hope for the latter, and that he’s still at his best.
Id say wilder is in his prime right now. His Range & power are great attributes that will keep him live in any fight..., however, His athleticism is = as impressive. It’s what allows him to utilize that range & that power with Max effect. how old is he like 34? he has about 2-3 years left at prime. Maybe less since he has horrid technique.
The key word that you used is “UTILIZE his power” i think wilder is not in the same league as those 2 (Hopkins,foreman) skill wise & fundamental technique Id say he has about 1-2 years of prime utilization of his power left.
Wilders prime ended the night he faced Dustin "the worm" Nichols. Even today Wilder wakes up screaming every night with visions of Nichols standing over him grinning after that check jab.
I suppose if Wilder fought someone within 2 months of almost being knocked out and was also restricted by a rehydration clause then we'd see a similar decline in power.
