Question regarding Deontay Wilder...

[Boxing Writer]

Why he isn't a big star in USA? He is exciting HW champion who provides a lot of eye-catching knockouts, is really good trash-talker and quite polarising figure among boxing fans. Yet he earns about $1-1.5 million per fight. A lot of people hate him, but hatrege from boxing fans is one of the keys to the good earnings as Floyd Mayweather, who was really boring fighter, has proven. Of course, it has to be said that Floyd has faced much better opposition. So, my question is following: is the level of Wilder's opposition the main (or probably eben only) reason why he still isn't a big star in the Unated States?

[Tony1244]

Yes. He has never been in a Huge fight.

Wilder 214 3/4. Lightest since 2009.

Ortiz 241 1/4

[asdfjkl]

Yes it is, every time he was supposed to fight someone good he fought a bum instead. There is no champ who faced such low competition as he did. Even when he won against a teacher, a junk, a hooligan, or a post delivery mailbox maker, he disappointed. If a real champ like AJ fought Molina, it was clearly visable that he was in fact a joke.

Still, if he wins tomorrow against Luis Ortiz in a fair way, then he earned a spot in the top. Luis Ortiz is, or at least used to be the real deal.
For me, Wilder vs Ortiz is the American version of Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko.
Ortiz aint a joke, unlike all the others.

[asdfjkl]

Yes. He has never been in a Huge fight.

Wilder 214 3/4. Lightest since 2009.

Ortiz 214 1/4

Wow, Ortiz lost quite some pounds, is he sick?

[Tony1244]

Yes. He has never been in a Huge fight.

Wilder 214 3/4. Lightest since 2009.

Ortiz 214 1/4

Wow, Ortiz lost quite some pounds, is he sick?

Sorry, 241 1/4.

[HomicideHenry]

#1- His attitude/ego is such that it makes him not only a major heel it makes him an unwatchable asshole.

#2- He can't sell out venues outside of Atlanta, Georgia where he's from primarily because of reason #1 and for reason #3.

#3- For far too long he's been spoon fed complete garbage opponents. It's extremely difficult to call yourself a world's champion when all you ever do is fight cannon fodder.

#4- With nearly 40 fights, it can be argued that this fight with Ortiz is the first and only time that he's ever stepped up. That's miserably sad.

#5- Because our world is far more connected than ever, and because for decades America hasn't produced any good heavyweights, the stigma that he's just "another guy" just waiting to get replaced by someone else, and the fact Anthony Joshua exists (and so does Tyson Fury) makes Wilder and the rest of the trinket champions seem meaningless.

#6- Google him or YouTube him and you'll see that he's best known for slapping the piss out of delusional Zelenoff. Hell the little fiasco was once again brought up on "Below the Belt" with Brendan Schaub this week. Other heavyweights can point to hard fought wins as their claim to fame, and all Wilder's got is TMZ covering him beating up a mental case whose 160 pounds and Teddy Atlas scolding Wilder on Friday Night Fights for doing so. It also feeds into reason #1 that Wilder is such a loose cannon and unhinged that it's hard to like him.

#7- How many undefeated heavyweights are there now? How many of them are current or former champions? Six. Lucas Browne, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Joseph Parker, Luis Ortiz and himself. It's a first in Heavyweight history, but it makes it all look like a complete novelty. Too many organizations with too many belts per division: Silver, Gold, Super, Lineal, Trans-Pacific, Latino, etc. How special could he be in the eyes of the general public when everyone is wearing a belt? That's part of the reason why viewership is down in the sport because every other sport in the world only has one championship. It's confusing, it's unrelatable, and it's unnecessary.

#8- His style. When you have a guy who is throwing punches like a baseball pitcher or worse, acting like a clown in the middle of the Ring thinking that makes him look cool and impressive, it makes people think two things: "this guy sucks," or "what an asshole." Then throw in the fact that he is so tall and lanky that everything he does looks uncoordinated anyway it makes people remember the day and age when heavy weights looked spectacular in the ring as athletes should.

Just my two cents.

[Boxing Writer]

Yes. He has never been in a Huge fight.

Wilder 214 3/4. Lightest since 2009.

Ortiz 241 1/4

Wilder's weight makes me think that he will use the same tactics against Ortiz as he used against Stiverne in their first fight - move a lot, be catious, work behind the jab.

[boxing_rocks]

Yes. He has never been in a Huge fight.

Wilder 214 3/4. Lightest since 2009.

Ortiz 241 1/4

Wilder's weight makes me think that he will use the same tactics against Ortiz as he used against Stiverne in their first fight - move a lot, be catious, work behind the jab.

[jamamb]

who was the last star to fght the same level of opposition in a comparably usa unstarred divson? the hw dvson today just doesnt offer many star boosting opponents. and even if you werent facing tyson or holy in the day you could get some of the reflected shine they brought

ortiz is one of the best he could face but is still totally unknown beyond boxing fans

[SenorPipino]

People don't know him because sports fans generally don't follow boxing in the US.

And America has pretty much ignored heavyweights since the days of Tyson, Bowe and Holyfield.

Without any exceptional American heavyweights as a potential rival to Wilder, the press ignores him and the sport in general.

Foreign heavyweights simply aren't on anyone's radar here. Anthony Joshua. Luis Ortiz. Alexander Povetkin. They might as well be short order cooks at Denny's.

Same with Wilder.

It also doesn't help that the mainstream media hates boxing. Blood sports are not PC. And the media is very PC.

[Lackeos]

a) He'd be a bigger star if he fought a better standard of opposition. There will probably be a stupid argument about whether Wilder has been fighting the best possible opponents, but the unambiguous fact is that he hasn't been.
b) He had been fighting in the small market of Alabama, and might be able to make more money fighting out of a bigger market.
c) Advertising dollars can go a long way towards making a fighter a star, and the promoter needs to be willing to spend money now to make money long-term.

[nmhz]

I have also questioned the financial side of DW’s fights. If Joseph Parker can bring in a million dollar + purse in New Zealand, why cant Wilder pull bigger figures? The US population is 80 times bigger than NZ.

Does anyone know the purse for the Ortiz fight?

[asdfjkl]

Also note that he wasn't a real heavyweight ofcourse, he won his lucky bronze medal as a cruiserweight (which is called heavyweight in the amateurs), David Price and Glazkov who last against Charles Martin won the real bronze heavyweight medal during the olympics.

[Evander]

So, my question is following: is the level of Wilder's opposition the main (or probably eben only) reason why he still isn't a big star in the Unated States?

I don't think Wilders level of opponents play much of a role at all.
Boxing out here isn't as popular as boxing in the UK, there's way more effort put into the promotional side in the UK.
Look at Ward v Kovalev 2 as a perfect example of crappy promotion in what was a hot fight, it was almost non existent considering the magnitude of the bout.
I think there's a lot of things going on surrounding Deontay Wilder and some of it comes from forces not close to him, I think there are people in the UK that would love him to fall apart so that Joshua can reign supreme and take all the money for themselves.
You can see how they behave on social media and television it's not exactly like it hasn't been done before I've been watching it go on for ages, it's part of the sport to make your opponent unstable in whatever way you can and media is used frequently.
The people in the UK if they were honest which they won't be would tell you at this moment in time Deontay Wilder is the biggest threat to Anthony Joshua hands down, they're scared of him and hoping Luis Ortiz can pull off the win so they don't have to deal with him.
Because once Wilder is out of the way it's pretty smooth sailing for Joshua, who else is out there that can seriously threaten
him, the division is thin just look at the rankings.

[jamamb]

ya its all a brit conspiracy lol. but who was the last genuine usa star whose highest usa profile opponent was maybe a faded chris arreola, years past the point where ppl really cared about him? theres not even a big name usa rival who could bring some rivalry attention to him even if they havent fought

theres no one even resembling a big name in the usa for him to fight. with boxings current level of popularity in the usa its gonna be really hard to create a star (not merely a solid draw) with no big name opponents

and wilder doesnt have the built in nationalistic support that comes more to mexican boxers like canelo. id bet hed be a bigger name if he were mexican

[Wales]

So, my question is following: is the level of Wilder's opposition the main (or probably eben only) reason why he still isn't a big star in the Unated States?

I don't think Wilders level of opponents play much of a role at all.
Boxing out here isn't as popular as boxing in the UK

Yet in the US boxing has out performed MMA 13 times in last 16 years with regards to top PPV. Yet Wilder simply hasn’t hit the heights the MMA fighters have

[jamamb]

on a consistent basis with tv numbers, is boxing doing better then mma in the us?

how many of those ppvs involved the same few guys?

[Taansend]

People don't know him because sports fans generally don't follow boxing in the US.

And America has pretty much ignored heavyweights since the days of Tyson, Bowe and Holyfield.

Without any exceptional American heavyweights as a potential rival to Wilder, the press ignores him and the sport in general.

Foreign heavyweights simply aren't on anyone's radar here. Anthony Joshua. Luis Ortiz. Alexander Povetkin. They might as well be short order cooks at Denny's.

Same with Wilder.

It also doesn't help that the mainstream media hates boxing. Blood sports are not PC. And the media is very PC.

Spot on, mate.

Even friends in the UK who are not really into boxing could name half a dozen current fighters.

When I tell people in America that I'm a boxing fan I usually hear "I used to be into boxing but....." if they're older or "I prefer MMA" if they're under 35.

Wilder is not pretty to watch but he can punch. He needs to get a decent promoter on his side & do what Cayton & Jacobs did with Mike Tyson - get highlight reels of his KOs out to as many people as possible before he fights.

I know Eddie Hearn wants to crack the US market & bring a UK style 'big night out' atmosphere to America but it's a different demographic.

If WIlder beats Ortiz & the winner of Joshua v Parker he will be better know. America loves winners but Wilder needs to be more realistic in his purse demands.

[Wales]

on a consistent basis with tv numbers, is boxing doing better then mma in the us?

MMA is nowhere near boxing in terms of TV audience or gate receipts which are really the only objective measurements anyone can use to compare the two.

Gotta give MMA credit though because boxing has had one helluva head start!

[Taansend]

So, my question is following: is the level of Wilder's opposition the main (or probably eben only) reason why he still isn't a big star in the Unated States?

I don't think Wilders level of opponents play much of a role at all.
Boxing out here isn't as popular as boxing in the UK

Yet in the US boxing has out performed MMA 13 times in last 16 years with regards to top PPV. Yet Wilder simply hasn’t hit the heights the MMA fighters have

I'm guessing that was mainly De La Hoya, Pacquiao & Mayweather

[jamamb]

on a consistent basis with tv numbers, is boxing doing better then mma in the us?

MMA is nowhere near boxing in terms of TV audience or gate receipts which are really the only objective measurements anyone can use to compare the two.

Gotta give MMA credit though because boxing has had one helluva head start!

really, for typical viewing figures on a consistent basis boxing does far better then mma? like, not just for the mega fights ever few years for guys who are already stars?

last ufc on fox for example had 2m+ viewers and the main event wasnt big names

to make a star you gotta get ppl watching in the first place. no doubt boxers who already are stars do very well, but were talking about getting a guy to stardom

on the whole, not just for super stars, is the evidence that boxing still does way better numbers?

[KiwiRider]

.

[KiwiRider]

#1- His attitude/ego is such that it makes him not only a major heel it makes him an unwatchable asshole.

#2- He can't sell out venues outside of Atlanta, Georgia where he's from primarily because of reason #1 and for reason #3.

#3- For far too long he's been spoon fed complete garbage opponents. It's extremely difficult to call yourself a world's champion when all you ever do is fight cannon fodder.

#4- With nearly 40 fights, it can be argued that this fight with Ortiz is the first and only time that he's ever stepped up. That's miserably sad.

#5- Because our world is far more connected than ever, and because for decades America hasn't produced any good heavyweights, the stigma that he's just "another guy" just waiting to get replaced by someone else, and the fact Anthony Joshua exists (and so does Tyson Fury) makes Wilder and the rest of the trinket champions seem meaningless.

#6- Google him or YouTube him and you'll see that he's best known for slapping the piss out of delusional Zelenoff. Hell the little fiasco was once again brought up on "Below the Belt" with Brendan Schaub this week. Other heavyweights can point to hard fought wins as their claim to fame, and all Wilder's got is TMZ covering him beating up a mental case whose 160 pounds and Teddy Atlas scolding Wilder on Friday Night Fights for doing so. It also feeds into reason #1 that Wilder is such a loose cannon and unhinged that it's hard to like him.

#7- How many undefeated heavyweights are there now? How many of them are current or former champions? Six. Lucas Browne, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Joseph Parker, Luis Ortiz and himself. It's a first in Heavyweight history, but it makes it all look like a complete novelty. Too many organizations with too many belts per division: Silver, Gold, Super, Lineal, Trans-Pacific, Latino, etc. How special could he be in the eyes of the general public when everyone is wearing a belt? That's part of the reason why viewership is down in the sport because every other sport in the world only has one championship. It's confusing, it's unrelatable, and it's unnecessary.

#8- His style. When you have a guy who is throwing punches like a baseball pitcher or worse, acting like a clown in the middle of the Ring thinking that makes him look cool and impressive, it makes people think two things: "this guy sucks," or "what an asshole." Then throw in the fact that he is so tall and lanky that everything he does looks uncoordinated anyway it makes people remember the day and age when heavy weights looked spectacular in the ring as athletes should.

Just my two cents.

Don't sell yourself short Henry, that post was worth more than 2 cents.
I would add is his behaviour is not in my view befitting of a champion.

[Ruthless-RKO]

#1- His attitude/ego is such that it makes him not only a major heel it makes him an unwatchable asshole.

#2- He can't sell out venues outside of Atlanta, Georgia where he's from primarily because of reason #1 and for reason #3.

#3- For far too long he's been spoon fed complete garbage opponents. It's extremely difficult to call yourself a world's champion when all you ever do is fight cannon fodder.

#4- With nearly 40 fights, it can be argued that this fight with Ortiz is the first and only time that he's ever stepped up. That's miserably sad.

#5- Because our world is far more connected than ever, and because for decades America hasn't produced any good heavyweights, the stigma that he's just "another guy" just waiting to get replaced by someone else, and the fact Anthony Joshua exists (and so does Tyson Fury) makes Wilder and the rest of the trinket champions seem meaningless.

#6- Google him or YouTube him and you'll see that he's best known for slapping the piss out of delusional Zelenoff. Hell the little fiasco was once again brought up on "Below the Belt" with Brendan Schaub this week. Other heavyweights can point to hard fought wins as their claim to fame, and all Wilder's got is TMZ covering him beating up a mental case whose 160 pounds and Teddy Atlas scolding Wilder on Friday Night Fights for doing so. It also feeds into reason #1 that Wilder is such a loose cannon and unhinged that it's hard to like him.

#7- How many undefeated heavyweights are there now? How many of them are current or former champions? Six. Lucas Browne, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Joseph Parker, Luis Ortiz and himself. It's a first in Heavyweight history, but it makes it all look like a complete novelty. Too many organizations with too many belts per division: Silver, Gold, Super, Lineal, Trans-Pacific, Latino, etc. How special could he be in the eyes of the general public when everyone is wearing a belt? That's part of the reason why viewership is down in the sport because every other sport in the world only has one championship. It's confusing, it's unrelatable, and it's unnecessary.

#8- His style. When you have a guy who is throwing punches like a baseball pitcher or worse, acting like a clown in the middle of the Ring thinking that makes him look cool and impressive, it makes people think two things: "this guy sucks," or "what an asshole." Then throw in the fact that he is so tall and lanky that everything he does looks uncoordinated anyway it makes people remember the day and age when heavy weights looked spectacular in the ring as athletes should.

Just my two cents.

He's not from Atlanta, Georgia.. he's from Alabama.

[DrDuke]

He is promoted too good. His only relatively big fight is against Stiverne and only the 1st one, because Stiverne was not worthy the rematch and it has turned out, that he has not been prepared to it. Wilder has more title defences, than some well-deserved champions of the past. Wilder is still not fully tested fighter, but he is a champ with plenty defences against not the best opposition possible.