What If Dustin Nichols had Knocked Wilder Out....

Wilder's physique in Fury 3 was VERY suspicious.

That metal rod implant in his right hand and the supplements probably propelled his career.

 

Dustin Nichols goes on to win the WBC heavyweight title breaks Joe Louis record of successful defenses

 

Jokes aside I think Nichols might actually have been a decent boxer if he didn't weigh 2000lbs.

 

You are joking, right? Wilder fought bums for the majority of his career before getting that BS title shot against Stiverne. The only credible opponents he fought before that were:
Audley Harrison, 41 at the time but off of a decent run. Retired after this loss.
Kelvin Price, a 37 year old prospect.
Malik Scott, an actual top 20ish type contender.

The Scott fight happened in Wilder's 31st fight, 5 years into his career.

5 years into his career, Joshua was unifying the IBF, WBA and WBO belts with Parker, having already fought:
Dillian Whyte, for the British crown.
Charles Martin, for the IBF.
Dominic Breazeale, who was at least as good as Scott.
Wladimir Klitschko, 41 and semi-retired, but still among the best.

Joshua unified 3 of the 4 belts while Wilder hid in a corner defending his WBC title against bums.

 

Are you referring to the slip 45 seconds in that Wilder bounced up from?

 

How do you know it was a slip?

Nichols threw a 1-2, the 2 clearly missed but the lazy effortless jab is what some may have rocked wilder but we can’t confirm as the ref is blocking the view (some say this ref blocking camera view was set up by wilders team)

considering wilder had pretty much no usual prospect level financial backing coming up, how does he set all this up?

 

It was ruled a slip.

Even if you interpret it a knockdown, he was up in the blink of an eye.

Funny thread.

 

I agree

 

Naw man that was a long count by the ref.

 

If Dustin Nichols had knocked out Deontay Wilder, it would have been a seismic shift in the heavyweight division. Wilder’s aura as a nearly unstoppable puncher would’ve been shaken, and Nichols would instantly become one of the most feared names in boxing. Title shots and high-profile fights would follow quickly, and the matchmaking landscape for Fury, Joshua, and other contenders would change dramatically. Beyond rankings, it would also affect the narrative around power vs. technique in modern heavyweights, proving that an underdog with timing and precision can topple a knockout artist. The ripple effects on future matchups and hype would be enormous.

 

Mmm... No, not really.

There's no question AJ was managed quite carefully - there's no question Wilder was managed quite carefully.

That's as far as it goes - the moment you look at it in the slightest bit of detail, the parallels collapse.

Joshua was carefully managed for the right fights at the right time - albeit not without errors - and seemingly primarily with moneymaking in mind as priority #1... But he still fought basically all the best fights that were available.
He couldn't really have fought Wlad any earlier, and even though Wlad was old it's still an excellent win; he couldn't really have fought a much younger Pov either given he was busy unifying against Parker the bout beforehand (and takam was the only other between Wlad and Pov as a stand-in for a mandatory).

It would've been good to see AJ against Fury, it looked like it nearly happened at one stage, but as it doesn't look like AJ was ducking at any stage, it's broadly a pass in terms of blame.


Wilder on the other hand was genuinely protected.
He was managed to keep an iron grip on the WBC - primarily by keeping him away from serious challenges. Openly ducked Whyte, openly ducked Joshua, wanted no part of Povetkin "cuz Peds" but then was happy to fight ancient overhyped ped guzzler Ortiz and an assumed shot busted Ped cheat in Fury.


Both won and held belts - how they used them was completely different and their resumes are levels apart.

Let's not pretend it's the same thing.

 

Exactly - it's conspiracy theory sort of thinking... Unless you have very good evidence, it's just nonsense (and I know you're saying exactly that).

And you're spot on about the power dynamics of it - a decent amateur record aside, Wilder clearly had questionable technique and issues with listening and learning... And a less than iron chin... And on top of that a difficult personality.
Why would that guy get backed hard before he'd proved more?