What is Deontay Wilder's legacy?

Wilder did not give an explanation, nor does he need to, it was a statement to fury and was an actuality.

As an explanation…
Aj/wilder had been in n out of talks for years. after fury 1, wilder gave his word he would grant fury a rematch. Fury asked for a couple fights inbetween and wilder agreed.
Wilder did fulfil his part of the verbal agreement, all drama and reasons, assumed intentions etc aside . The fight happening is proof of the fact.


Dazn tried their deal during this time and their ceo stated it was his own fault it fell through, not wilder or AJ.

Regarding the suggestion it wasn’t about him intending to be a man of his word as he was in talks with Dazn/aj. He is allowed to negotiate with others and he did. But he still stuck to his word with fury and did not try to get out of it.

assuming intentions is immature.

ps, every champ insists a rematch clause. It’s not a duck. It’s an “I’ll fight you again” both will have wanted it.

 

He wasn't talking about that "man of my word" stuff while rejecting the DAZN deal. Both Wiler and Finkel said the deal was legit and genuine and provided the above reasons to reject it. Way before DAZN's CEO pointed out some flaws in the contract, that could have been straightened out if the offer was taken. And it wasn't anything about Wilder, but AJ's contract with Sky Sports.

Nothing wrong with asking for the rematch clause, you didn't understand my point. But when in 2018 you ask for the rematch clause and in 2019 you are rejecting the deal because it contains 2 fights, it just shows you really don't want to fight. Just like Fury did with Usyk originally. Blasted Usyk for wanting a rematch clause while putting it in the contract in the first place.

 

Shavers, roughly.

 

An entertaining fighter with a lot of heart that gave the people what they wanted. For many years he carried at least half of the excitement of the heavyweight division, albeit against weak opposition. He was however durable, and had a lot of heart. His bull whip right hand from hell was the stuff of nightmares, cause if it landed, and you were not elite, you were done.
ATGs like Liston, Foreman, Holmes would have stood up to his best shots and taken his head off quickly, but against mere mortals and lesser champions he would upset a lot of apple carts. If anyone did not try to take him out early sooner or later that right would land, and then...

 

Shavers didn't make 10 successful heavyweight title defenses, have one of the longest title reigns in heavyweight history, he didn't knock out everyone he faced for a decade and he wasn't outweighed by everyone he fought for 12 years.

Shavers didn't win anything, and Earnie Shavers lost to nobodies like Ron Stander, Stan Johnson and Bob Stallings. If Shavers is your closest comparison ... it proves my point.

There hasn't been anyone like him at heavyweight, so it's difficult to categorize him.

 

This is why people struggle to accept him

 

Why would he talk about sticking to be a man if his word when A) it was irrelevant to a seperate negotiation (he didn’t grant fury exclusive discussions with him only)
B) the reason he brought it up was to display his behaviour to fury was not reciprocated.

 

It shows that being a man of his word wasn't the reason he rejected the offer from DAZN.

 

Right. People want to say "he's like this guy ... so he goes here." Or "he's like that guy, and that guy goes here."

No KO artist was outweighed by everyone they fought for 12 years.
No champion at heavyweight has so many defenses or has such a long reign, but was never the heavier guy. They were usually the bigger men.

I can't recall a heavyweight champion who had as many hand, arm, shoulder surgeries during his career and still fought more than all of his peers.

I can't recall another heavyweight champion who broke his hand and tore his bicep in the same fight, against a much heavier banger, both injuries requiring surgeries, and he still won by stoppage.

His legs were comically thin. Actual stick legs. Where his power came from, I have no clue. It didn't come from his legs.

But he certainly had it.

Hell, if the ref in the Munguia-Surace fight refereed Fury 1 and 3, Wilder would have two KO wins over Fury. Not two losses.

Who was he like? Bob Fitzsimmons (who didn't have nearly the run at the top)? Bob Foster at 175 (even Foster couldn't knock out all the guys the same weight as him, let alone heavier guys)?

No, nobody really. He was a uniquely successful character in the history of the sport.

But, his time has passed. He hasn't been a champion in five years. Time for Wilder and everyone to move on. There's a new crop of heavies to discuss.

 

Hardest puncher of his era. Badly hurt the two undisputed champions of his era, nearly beating one, but didn't manage to get the brass ring. One trick pony, but his one trick was exceptional, just like Wilder's.

Both had the same ceiling in their primes: Wilder got close to beating Fury (but couldn't, especially once Fury prepared), and Shavers had the same experience with Ali and Holmes. All of the guys they came up short against were "boxer" types, with Ali and Fury being past their best. At one point, both guys were considered among the 2 or 3 best heavies in the world.

IIRC, Shavers is in the IBHOF, so Wilder should be, too.

 

I think his legacy is like Liston's but not as good. They both had great power but when they faced good competition they didn't do great. I'm not hating on Liston or Wilder I just think their careers will always be overshadowed by the defeats they suffered.

 

WBC HW champion
Made 10 successful title defences
10 - 1 - 2 in world title fights
Went 43 fights unbeaten (1 draw) with 10 title defences and 41KOs

Wilder may not have the best resume for a world champion who made 10 defences but did make a successful defence against Undefeated Fury, knocking him down twice (I felt Fury was a clear winner) which I think showed that Wilder was a top 10 HW
I think Wilder sometimes got rated higher by being Undefeated whereas some other fighters took more risks that resulted in losses but was certainly a big factor in the HW division

 

Liston basically cleaned out the division he was fighting in. Wilder only beat Stiverne and Ortiz. They are nothing alike.

 

Mentioning weight not mentioning his big height and reach advantage over most opponents is wild(er).

 

In boxing, size is measured by weight. Hence we have weight classes, not height of reach classes