We have to appreciate prime Deontay Wilder was one of the hardest hitters in boxing history

Fact is you'd say the elite heavyweights he fought were Fury, Parker and Zhang, outside of Fury who gets knocked down by everyone he didn't rock Parker and Zhang once.

 

A world champ is a sign of being (in the organisations opinion) the best current fighter in the world.

Earnie shavers was never considered the best in the world. I have nothing against shavers. (possibly born at the wrong time, I understand what your saying but a world champ is a title held at the present day)

 

What makes Zhang more elite than stiverne, brezeale, Ortiz? In 2024 Zhang is, but in 2017-2020, Zhang was nobody and Parker and wilder couldn’t get a deal done, after Parker’s AJ fight he kind of disappeared off the world scene and struggled with Chisora and whyte who are way below his class. Tbh he looked done with boxing. But he’s had a good resurgence

 

Just looking at the Wilder record, his first ever undefeated fighter he faces was the complete bum Gerald Washington, who had a gifted draw against Amir Mansour.
Then 39 years old Ortiz, who had 2 NC, due to failed drug test, and so on.
And then a draw with Fury, and then 2 loses to Fury.

So to sums it up, with 48 fights, Wilder had faces only 3 Undefeated fighters. Ortiz, Gerald Washington and Tyson Fury.

For a contrast AJ has faced more Undefeated fighters in won against them in just 17 fights.
Not that their level of opposition was higher.
But he won against Gary Cornish, Whyte, Martin and Breazeale.
If we sums up the wins, AJ had 2 wins against Undefeated fighters in just 15 fights. Something WIlder has achieved at his 40th. fight .....

 

Cheers - it annoys me that Wilder gets so much credit for swinging wildly, which was only really possible because he was fighting no-hopers.

It's no surprise that the powers not there to KO the better fighters he fought - he didn't have time to plant and throw, or the liberty to give it 100% the way he did against his preferred bums... It's not that his powers gone, he just didn't have time/space and/or couldn't afford to use all of it against Fury, Parker or Zhang (or even the more mediocre Ortiz).

 

In over a decade on this forum, even among the longest, biggest talkers, they still cannot distinguish between obvious power and quality of opposition, a concept so simple, I literally can't understand anyone not being able to understand it and tie their shoelaces. This is a concept that a ten-year-old should be able to handle after thinking about it for two minutes. But I watch people logically struggle with it for year after year, a puzzle they just can't solve but are certain they have.

 

I blame Velcro.

 

I know right?

It should be as plain as the nose on your face that you can swing much harder when you have more time and space, and that it's much less risky when there's less consequences for missing.

Sure, you've still got to be capable of hitting that hard against semi-static targets, but it doesn't change that you're going to look way more powerful if that's mostly what you're hitting.
Or that guys fighting serious opponents will rarely be able to show nearly as much power, because it's risky to commit 100% against opponents who really can punish you for it.

And yet... There are still loads of people on here who think that the quality of opposition makes no difference at all.

 

His opposition sucks, so hard to tell. Definitely strong.

Wlad, Foreman, Shavers and Lennox could have had better one punch power.

Then there's guys like Tua, Iron Mike and AJ who are more devastating punchers because they have great technique, punch in combinations and pack serious power in both hands even if they don't have the F=m.a that Wilder has in a single hit.

 

There's a difference between having it and using it, too, of course.

Take Joshua's KO punch on Ngannou - it's probably right up there with anything Wilder's ever thrown, cracking a better chin than Wilder ever broke.
But you rarely, if ever, see Joshua commit to that kind of punch with that kind of force - because he's normally fighting guys who are decent enough to make it risky... And being more trained and restrained, he's learned not to - especially, as you say, when he can do as much damage with much less risky combos.

Wilder clearly hit hard... But there's a very, very strong likelihood that we only see him as the murderous puncher because he fought so many cans.
Hitting cans hard is still hitting hard - but it's not the same as guys like Tyson or Lewis hitting hard against guys who could KO you back (including when they already had, in the case of Lewis and Rahman).

 

Yeah, I agree.

Wilder's boxing is hopeless. He goes full windmill, zero technique, zero discipline, zero pacing and zero respect to the person in front of him. In part because the guys he faced were crap. In part because he's too full of himself. In part because he cannot box lol.

You'd never see Wlad, AJ or Lennox throwing in such a ridiculous, reckless manner.

 

It's baffling

 

AJ probably his harder than Wilder tbh and your poind stands up if you look at AJs last fight he had the time to fully load up and he completely wiped out Francis like he was one of Wilders bums even though Francis had a reputation of a solid chin in mma yet Wilder fans would always tell you AJ can not hit as hard as Wilder because he never puts anyone to sleep like Wilder put AJ in with the same fighters and see

 

And yet he still beat better fighters than Wilder has