What should be said about Deontay Wilder now?

[ykdadamaja]

Was it really just a "bad day at the office" for Wilder? That's what some of the apologists would say.

Was it a case of getting your big pay day and having a little bit of fun and neglecting the training and hunger that got you the title in the first place? That is what some of the haters would say.

Was it a case of his opponent, Eric Molina, just being better than what was anticipated from him? That is what matchmakers would say as an excuse to give Wilder that match-up in the first place.

Was it a case of Wilder carrying Molina to give the fans some excitement? That is what the conspiracy mobsters of the fight game would say behind closed doors.

Was it a case of home-crowd nerves on Wilder's part? That's what people in Alabama would say who have not seen him fight, up close, at the elite level in the last 3 years or so when he left the local scene.

Was it a case of Wilder's right hand not healing up properly since the Stiverne fight? Could be, because he didn't throw much of it as we were used to seeing. In fact, his left hook did more damage outside of the finishing punch.

Was it a case of Eric Molina showing us a blueprint on how to break Wilder down and beat him? Could be, and this is what prospective opponents with more skill, chin and determination would say as their consolation to preparing to fight Wilder.

Is any of it something to worry about moving forward? Possibly not. But, then again, in my opinion, it really is. Especially if Wilder wants to win more and more at the elite level.

Not to take away from his opponent, Eric Molina, but Wilder may be suffering from at least three of these scenarios:

I feel he got his first bit of real money having beaten Stiverne, knew he was in with a supposedly soft opponent in Molina, did not train as hard as he should have, Molina came up for the fight, prepared well and had a real game plan that can work well for Wilder's opponents in the future- That is, stay away as much as you can from Wilder in the early rounds, hit him with hard body shots early to middle, and then wait for him to lose some steam on his legs and then take him up top when you can.

The only thing Molina did wrong in his loss to Wilder was that Molina did not commit hard enough to the body by at least round three, and Molina was getting afraid of being hit more than he was interested in giving back some punishment- which was not by a great margin his fear to courage factor, but enough to give Wilder a few chances he should not have had.

The beginning of a blueprint is out there: Run from Wilder for the first three rounds or so, hit the body early, and hard, and don't stop hitting the body even when you start to mix it up to the head. Wilder will lose steam, and he will be there for you to stop him.

I think Wilder's chin is better than what people expected of him. Give Wilder credit for that. But he will have the Tommy Hearns effect ala Sugar Ray Leonard in their first fight. I'm almost certain of it.

Povetkin is next for Wilder, if all things go smoothly in the fight game. Povetkin can learn from this fight, more than anyone can learn from Wilder's fight vs. Stiverne.

[ross]

Wilder is supposed to be a massive puncher but Arreola stopped Molina in the first.

He struggled to control him.

Its more a case of this fight proved how poor Stiverne was.

Wilder will make for fun fights but hes not going to be a title holder for long. Oddly enough I still think he beats Povetkin with his height.

[denilson200]

Wilder is supposed to be a massive puncher but Arreola stopped Molina in the first.

He struggled to control him.

Its more a case of this fight proved how poor Stiverne was.

Wilder will make for fun fights but hes not going to be a title holder for long. Oddly enough I still think he beats Povetkin with his height.

That's the Chris Arreola who was stopped by Stiverne, the Stiverne who was clearly outpointed by Wilder. Right ?

[Dia bando]

Wilder looked poor I was not impressed with this performance, he does bring a bit of excitement
to the HW division, maybe a off night I NO if he gets in the ring with Povetkin he better shape
up, or his rein as Champion will be short lived.

[Master]

Wilder probably took his opponent lightly and against serious competition he will raise his game particularly if it is Povetkin or Wlad.

[ykdadamaja]

Wilder is supposed to be a massive puncher but Arreola stopped Molina in the first.

He struggled to control him.

Its more a case of this fight proved how poor Stiverne was.

Wilder will make for fun fights but hes not going to be a title holder for long. Oddly enough I still think he beats Povetkin with his height.

How did Arreola bomb Molina out? With furious combinations that Arreola is famous for. No one closes you out when he has you hurt quite like Arreola, now admit it. Sure, he may not have bone crushing power, but Arreola does not take his foot off of the gas WHEN IN SHAPE in terms of "closing out" a strong opponent.

Wilder is a one time smash guy. A true heavyweight with heavyweight power. But as we saw, as his opponents get tougher willed and more strong chins, Wilder's one punch gimmick can be weathered.

[TitoFan]

Credit where credit is due. I think Wilder fought an excellent fight against Stiverne. People can dump on Stiverne all they want, but fact remains he's still a very dangerous fighter on any given night. Unfortunately, I also think Wilder somehow regressed against Molina. Not to take anything away from Molina, but Wilder looked amateurish at times. One of the things he does way too often is hold his hands low and back away from punches a la Ali. Wilder is not Ali, and he should stop acting like him. Ali could get away with a lot of things that Wilder will not be able to get away with. I used to think Wilder had a great probability to beat Wlad. I've changed my mind. In fact, if Wilder fights Povetkin the same way he fought Molina.... he might be in for a rude awakening.

[erics44]

Wilder is supposed to be a massive puncher but Arreola stopped Molina in the first.

He struggled to control him.

Its more a case of this fight proved how poor Stiverne was.

Wilder will make for fun fights but hes not going to be a title holder for long. Oddly enough I still think he beats Povetkin with his height.

molina was a lot more ambitious against arreola

he was there to survive against wilder

if he had had a bit more belief against wilder he might have caused a massive shock in the 3rd

[ross]

The question should be how Molina would have done with the other top heavies.

We already know what Arreola would do to him.

[Dark Lord Al]

The question should be how Molina would have done with the other top heavies.

We already know what Arreola would do to him.

Styles make fights , Arreola beat Molina , Stiverne beat Arreola , Wilder beat Stiverne.

[ross]

The question should be how Molina would have done with the other top heavies.

We already know what Arreola would do to him.

Styles make fights , Arreola beat Molina , Stiverne beat Arreola , Wilder beat Stiverne.

Maybe but I never rated Stiverne. Maybe he just out toughed Arreola but Molina gets beaten sooner by every other heavy.

[El Kabong]

Any video of Wilder getting rocked?

I think Wilder being raw is part of his aura. It gets a lot of guys who aren't technically good boxers off their games because there's this idea that Wilder will throw without regard to what might come back at him so it might make them wary of trying to counter him or set him up for a trap. I think his rawness plus his power is what has given him this "wow" factor....but you scratch the surface and he's just another boxer, get somebody in there with some guts someone not afraid to roll and counter against him, someone not intimidated by his size, someone who knows they will be safer in the pocket against him vs on the outside and then you'll see Deontay struggle.

I think Povetkin has a great chance to upset the apple cart here, he has to be thinking if Molina can catch Wilder let alone hurt him then Alex can knock him down and if he can knock him down then it's likely he can knock him out.

[Ron Swanson]

Opinions of Deontay should be almost the same as on Friday. Sports fans tend to only look at what they last saw. That's silly. All evidence should be considered.

[brocktonblockbust]

Opinions of Deontay should be almost the same as on Friday. Sports fans tend to only look at what they last saw. That's silly. All evidence should be considered.

OH, those myopic 'sports fans' again....looking at what they ~last~ saw....except that, what they "last" saw was the fight itself.

[powerpuncher]

I think that wilder was just trying to go for the KO quickly and when that didn't happen, he had to change his gamelan. Wilder is the same as I thought before. He is an inexperienced fighter who has some good tools and is just fortunate to be in a terrible division.