Deontay Wilder: 5 Reasons The WBC Heavyweight Champion Isn't As Big Of A Deal As He Should Be

Deontay Wilder: 5 Reasons The WBC Heavyweight Champion Isn't As Big Of A Deal As He Should Be

Brian Mazique , CONTRIBUTOR

Deontay Wilder is the WBC heavyweight champion. His professional record is 39-0 with 38 KOs. He's 6'7" 220 pounds on fight night and looks as if he could be a power-hitting first baseman in baseball, an NFL tight end or small forward in the NBA.

On top of all of those physical attributes, Wilder is an American.

With all those seemingly favorable boxing traits, why isn't he a bigger deal?

Need proof? Two key factors further illustrate Wilder's secondary popularity level in the sport.

Social media presence isn't everything in boxing, but it definitely matters. Wilder has just 238,000 followers on Twitter while Anthony Joshua has 1.8 million. In his last fight, more than 78,000 fans came out to see Joshua take on Carlos Takam at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff Wales.

Wilder's last fight at the Barclays Center drew just under 11,000 fans. Its capacity is 18,000. Based on this, there's no sensibility in Wilder's claim that he should be getting a 50-50 split in a fight with Joshua.


Why hasn't Wilder blown up with the boxing community? I believe there are five major factors.

1) Unrefined Technique for Most of His Career

Early in Wilder's career, he wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing fighter to watch. Truth be told, he was wild and seemingly very vulnerable if he ever came up against a truly elite heavyweight. Many fight fans placed him in a box four or five years ago.

He's come a long way since his earlier years, but many in the boxing community still don't appear to be high on his skill level.

2) His Opponent's Anti-Doping Violations

Wilder has had terrible luck with opponents. He's had three of them fail pre-fight drug tests and the delays have cost him potential momentum and as much as two years of production and earnings.

Had he faced and knocked out Luis Ortiz, Alexander Povetkin, and Andrzej Wawrzyk, the narrative might look a little different for Wilder.

3) He Isn't Polarizing

Wilder appears to be a pretty nice guy. Most media folks who interact with him believe he's a solid interview and pleasant overall. Fans don't seem to despise him, but America hasn't embraced him either. Per Boxing Scene, Wilder implied that if he were a different color, he'd probably be more accepted. That's not inconceivable, but probably not entirely true.

His personality simply isn't that interesting to most people, and that's a real shame. If he were a raving lunatic always spewing controversial rhetoric, he'd be more popular and must-see TV, even if it were for all the wrong reasons.

If he were a different color, he may not need to be all of those things, because there would be a novel quality to his reign as champion. For example, white heavyweight champions are an extreme rarity. The last time the sport saw one was 24 years ago when the late Tommy Morrison held the WBO title. If Wilder were white, would he be more popular?

It's hard to argue against that concept, but it's certainly not the prevailing factor.

4) He's Poorly Promoted

With everything Wilder brings to the table, there's no reason Showtime and Lou DiBella shouldn't be pushing him at every possible opportunity. Once his fights have a date, Showtime should be running Countdowns to Deontay promos on the network. That doesn't happen.

The Twitter accounts of Lou DiBella and DiBella Entertainment don't have the requisite references to Wilder. If you scroll through Lou's Twitter feed, there is exactly one reference to Wilder from Saturday morning dating back as far as November, and that was a retweet from someone commenting on the aforementioned article.

DiBella Entertainment's account talks up Wilder only right before and immediately after his fights. That's just not enough.

He's the only American heavyweight champion and his promoters and networks treat him as if he's just another fighter. Early on it seemed as if they protected him a great deal from real challenges, almost as if they weren't complete believers in his skill level.

Now that he's risen as high as he can without being regarded as the top draw at heavyweight in the world, it's like his team doesn't know what to do with him from a promotional standpoint.

5) He's Lacking the Definitive Victory

Wilder has the amazing record, but he really hasn't beaten anyone of note. Up to now, his best win came over Bermane Stiverne–twice. The first one was nice as it brought him his world title, but the second one only took place because Ortiz failed the pre-fight drug test.

Two wins over Stiverne isn't enough to make Wilder a star. If he is going to turn the corner, he needs to win a series of fights over the best in the division. If that happens, there will be no way to deny him what he's earned.

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianm...s-big-of-a-deal-as-he-should-be/#105dfaaa3e1d

 

Lol the guy cant even draw crowds and he wants a 50/50 split with AJ