Deontay Wilder was 20 years old when he started boxing and went on to win a bronze in the olympics and won the wbc hw championship.Even Sturvine won the championship and he was 19 when he started.I can name other historical as far back as Jess Willard who started at 27 years old. This myth that boxers are these bread from birth fighters who are magnificent and no one can break into it and win gold has been proven false time and time again,so stop bringing up Brock Lesnar to me cause at least he was a collegiate wrestler.. If you think I'm wrong ? Tell me...
Wilder hasn't won gold, has he. Neither did Stiverne. They are trinket holders in an age where bottom top 10 guys can and do get titles... and anyone who seriously follows the sport know that. If boxing was the UFC with only one champ, they would have never 'gotten Gold', like Brock did in MMA. Wlad is the Gold of the division, and would wreck both of them. As would Povetkin, so they wouldn't even get Silver. But yes, if your point was that a freak 6ft 7 athlete who has been boxing for 10 years and was brought along at a ridiculous pace, with a lot of politics, can become a top 10, maybe top 5 guy.... then sure. Fact is, Wilder has been boxing practically non stop for the last 10 years.... and Stiverne for the last 15 plus and has had over 80... 80! boxing matches under his belt.... and they never were and probably never will be 'the man' in boxing. Big difference to Brock, and MMA. Now, if Wilder goes on to beat Wlad, then you will actually have a point.
Wilder won a bronze medal in the olympics with just 4 years under his belt. The thing is Brock Lesnar accomplish the same thing in a nutshell.He won a title in a near non existent division and beat a man 15 years his senior. My biggest point of all is that boxing is just a sport like mma where fighting is fighting and anyone can compete if they are big enough or talented/athletic enough to put in the work.
Anthony Joshua won gold after 4 years training and I am sure he said that there was a gap in there where he didn't train. Also worth noting that Lesnar was fast tracked to a title fight because of his fame. If he had to work his way up like most fighters he would have lost before getting there.
It's still a good achievement to just get to the final. The point is he made it to that level in around four years training
Winning prestigious amature achievements after four years still doesnt compare to becoming heavyweight champion of a professional sport in one year lol.
