Wilder could be just a throwback to the heavyweights in the 70s,80s a before that.

Everyone hoping on the bandwagon talking all this nonsense. Like age applies the same to everyone. It doesn''t.

Age is not factored the same when it comes to different styles. Some styles take youth, speed and reflexes (Think: Mike Tyson) and some don't rely on those as much. (Think: George Foreman, Holmes)

Since Wilder always relied on his explosiveness and reflexes it only makes sense that his career is ending or over. The man is thirty eight and has suffered two horrific beatings from a giant nearly seven foot tall, three hundred pound man. This diminished his punch resistance and reflexes.

Since Wilder never relied on training or techniques it only makes sense his career is ending or is over. Raw power and careful matchmaking only gets you so far.

Let's not pretend it's just age.

 

He had 35 wins against part-time cab drivers. If he fought anyone like Parker or Zhang or Fury in his 20th fight he would've been exposed. His handlers knew what they were doing. And PBC/Deontay handlers made him a lot of money...it is prizefighting after all

 

He's a throwback to the 30s where windmilling arm punchers with no skill were able to become world champions.

That's not a good thing.

 

Parker and Zhang are exactly the level he beat 10x in his defences.

 

Fighters like Wilder don't reach their prime. He used to suck when he was younger, he sucks now, and he'll suck in the future.

 

Not everyone ages at the same pace. Not everyone's body can take repeated blows to the head. Most people can't

Look for signs of deterioration rather than just age.

Wilder looks like a shot fighter to me.

Give him a brain scan before he becomes another James Toney, Jerry Quarry, ....

 

Wilders ages, activity recently, the level of competition he's faced - all these and more certainly play a factor in his preformances recently

But I think the biggest factor recently is his frame of mind, we all know his line about only having to be perfect for 1 second, and we can all see he absolutely believed that at the time, I think in his own head he felt this was a certainty, and he fought like this

Even after the 1st fury fight he still had this mind frame, 2nd fury fight - as much as we all knew he was bested by the better man, he got pulled out of the fight "early" in his mind, so could still believe that had the fight continued, he would have survived and eventually landed on fury

3rd fight I think changed wilder - he still had the belief in himself in this fight, but this fight did go on, and fury got up everytime, and kept coming

Wilder had no excuses he could reconcile within himself for this one, he got beat, he got KO'd, and for a lack of a better word, he realised his mortality,

The only postive fight after this was the Helenius KO, which looked at the time that the old wilder was still about, but we know now that's not the case

In the Parker and now Zhang fight, you can see he's hesitant to throw, he did land some rights against Zhang but they didn't have the venom on them that Wilders known for, he didn't throw his entire body behind it with that resolve that he knows is he lands its over, he thew it more just to land a punch, quick tap and hist hand right back (I say tap just to get a point across, I most certainly still wouldn't like to be hit with that shot),

He's more conscious that he can get hurt, that he can lose and that his get out of jail free trick isn't always going to work, and I think he's just abit to old to build the confidence back up in himself.

(Edit - accidentally hit post on mobile half way through the post lol)

 

This is pretty much how I see it except iw ould remove Zhang from that list. Zhang would knock Stiverne out cold, but Parker probably outboxes him and Fury as well. The Wilder opponent that I would make the livest (is that a word?) dog vs Zhang and Fury and maybe Parker is the earliest iteration of King Kong that I could get.

 

Did boxers in the 70s and 80s have toothpicks for legs as well?

 

Parker and Zhang have beaten other top HWs whereas NONE of Wilder's opponents were relevant - AT ALL - when he fought them. Stiverne was gifted a vacant title which he held for 1 fight. And Luis Ortiz was at one point considered a Top 5 HW but he was 38 years old by the time Wilder fought him...the same age you Wilder fans say makes Parker's win meaningless. So age only counts when it helps Wilder but not when it hurts him?

Speaking of Parker he beat Zhang himself as well as Wilder and had a competitive fight w AJ. Parker also beat Chisora and Ruiz. There are zero Wilder opponents besides Fury with that kind of performance history

Zhang always beats Wilder.

 

excellent post. I believe the exact same but have not made the effort to type it as many on here just hate on certain fighters too much to understand boxing and sports competition.

his self belief has taken a big hit, he no longer believes in himself in the delusional manner it takes to be great. Fans hate excuses being made after a loss but fail to understand the importance of that excuse is to maintain self belief.
Champions of this level cannot go to battle with doubts about anything, once they doubt themselves, they lose.

 

Yes, they were a lot smaller as the weight class was lower.

 

He's clearly washed up but loses to Parker or Zhang at any point in his career imo. Anyone with a really good chin and some skills was always going to be a hard fight for him. I do think he would have beat Whyte though.

 

You people are hard work.
it’s a shame ppls hatred is superior to common sense . There is not much point responding to this, I’ll write a bit, but feels like trying to explain things to kids.

People age differently in sports and in normal life.

wilder at 38 is past his peak due to the miles on his odometer.
Zhang for eg is still working towards his peak at 40+ after turning pro late.
Neither Zhang nor Parker will ever be on the level wilder has achieved. They know that themselves.

Beating a British hype job in whyte or Joyce, or a British gatekeeper in Chisora is no greater than beating American hype jobs.
Ortiz was ranked at his highest when wilder beat him. Ortiz was better than any of the above 3.

Arreola almost beat Ruiz too, about 5 years after wilder ko’d him. Parker is nothing special but I respect him as a former world champion. Whyte and Chisora are spilka/Washington level, that is all and there is no shame in it.

Stiverne was Parker’s level, he just wasn’t promoted like the brits are here.