Wilder why the love?

[ajwesty13]

I've been frequenting boxrec for a few years now and have liked and disliked many views, topics, arguments and even enjoying horses controversial top 10's but I've always understood the logic behind the opinions even if I didn't agree or were to stubborn.. but one view I cannot get my head around is why people appear to have the love for wilder in the boxing community... most of you appear to be boxing purists just how is possible to enjoy such a ugly style of boxing?? Please explain..

PS bet this is the first ever topic on this

[Ezzard]

He KO's people yet appears vulnerable...and often he's behind on points (or should be if not for iffy judges)... Makes it exciting.

If his opposition level remains decent I'm a fan.

[Tony1244]

I see a lot of Wilder hate on here, but ok.

I think we all acknowledge he is no Ray Robinson or Ali in the ring. He never laced on boxing gloves till he was 21 and as one writer put it, it shows. His lack of fluidity in the ring while still being undefeated is part of the charm.

Some people find him obnoxious, but as with Fury, some people find his promos entertaining.

A lot of people loved Earnie Shavers or Two Ton Tony Galento. Hell, some people loved Butterbean. Just because someone isn't a fluid boxer but they often get the job done is a reason to be a fan to some.

Yes, I favor AJ over Wilder, but if Wilder lands solidly.....who knows? Does anyone really think AJ vs Pulev would be more interesting?

[Tony1244]

He KO's people yet appears vulnerable...and often he's behind on points (or should be if not for iffy judges)... Makes it exciting.

If his opposition level remains decent I'm a fan.

I think your answer was more succinct and better than mine.

[Enlightened-One]

I've been frequenting boxrec for a few years now and have liked and disliked many views, topics, arguments and even enjoying horses controversial top 10's but I've always understood the logic behind the opinions even if I didn't agree or were to stubborn.. but one view I cannot get my head around is why people appear to have the love for wilder in the boxing community... most of you appear to be boxing purists just how is possible to enjoy such a ugly style of boxing?? Please explain..

PS bet this is the first ever topic on this

I don’t think boxing fans have been particularly fond of Deontay Wilder at all… at least until he defied expectations and defeated Luis Ortiz in a very exciting bout (for at least last five rounds).

Wilder needed to defeat a legitimate contender in order to be considered a serious threat to AJ and he finally achieved that last weekend.

‘The Bronze Bomber’ has many flaws for sure, but they are outweighed by his strengths and he is also fun to watch.

[ValMar]

It is very simple, he is capable to KO anyone.

[gilgamesh]

People tend to like exciting fighters and a vulnerable guy that forever feels like he's only 1 punch away from either knocking you out or getting knocked out is damn sure exciting.

[lazboy]

I’ve always liked traditional boxing skills over athleticism. For example, the most exciting Roy Jones jr fights I’ve seen were his ones with Tarver and glen johnson, don’t really enjoy his other fights. I do appreciate heart though. I’m a fan of Jeff Horn whom similarly started boxing at an older age and outworked Manny showing tremendous heart.

I like Wilders personality. I’ve said it on here before. He’s a wildcard and good for the division. Having said that, I feel he’ll stink out a lot of rds in fights but I appreciate it may be worth it if there’s spectacular action/drama in there at some stage.

[Taansend]

Because the only way to restore boxing in America is to have exciting fighters from America being successful.

Especially heavyweights.

Mayweather, while incredibly successful, hurt the sport with average fans.

Hopefully after Wilder we get another exciting American heavyweight because it's good for the sport both here and abroad.

[jamamb]

yes good post ezzard

for me a big part of the fun with wilder is his fights can be like being on a crazy see saw/teeter totter where hes looking vulnerable and like he could get in trouble but then manages to score a big ko. being hurt with molina, trouble with szplika, imo losing to washington, seriously hurt and looking almost stopped vs ortiz

with him you get the feeling you could very well be watching an upset, and if not then a huge ko

[jamamb]

ill say it like this, if you read play by plays for wilder fights, in so many of his fights you can get stuff like 'wilder rocked!' 'wilder in serious trouble!' 'man wilder looking poor tonight and down on my card' 'wilders really struggling here'

and then boom bang boom

those types of fights get you excited and take you in. you sense big stuffs gonna happen either way, whether wilder goes down,gets hurt, or loses, and/or a huge ko from wilder


whereas a guy like wlad klitschko in most of his last run, even though known to be vulnerable big puncher, really was never having fights where he showed much sign that he might lose or was even going to have problems. also all the holding made for very little fluidity and flow to the action of his fights. constant start and stop is very annoying.

[Best Coast]

Because the only way to restore boxing in America is to have exciting fighters from America being successful.

Especially heavyweights.

Mayweather, while incredibly successful, hurt the sport with average fans.

Hopefully after Wilder we get another exciting American heavyweight because it's good for the sport both here and abroad.

Great points!! Add to that the excitement factor that Wilder brings to every fight. Even when he is fighting someone way below him in ability he seems to fight down to the level of his opposition. While that is NOT good for his legacy it does draw lots of viewers and if Deontay and AJ continue on their unbeaten paths, their PPV could eventually be the first heavyweight PPV to break 2 million buys!! (Holyfield-Tyson II did 2 million even.)

Best-case scenario for the HWs would be a 6'4", 220# American fighter with the dedication and natural talent of an Errol Spence. Not likely but its nice to dream...

[jamamb]

they are a huge way off 2 m ppvs , at least in the us

what are deontays tv numbers so far? mainly below 1m right? and thats either 'free' tv or showtime

things is too, ortiz got beat, parker gonna get beat, who else major is there?

[Stuarty]

Technically he's not great so that makes him vulnerable. He has crazy power. He's a personality as well. Personally I like the guy.

[Evander]

they are a huge way off 2 m ppvs , at least in the us

what are deontays tv numbers so far? mainly below 1m right? and thats either 'free' tv or showtime

things is too, ortiz got beat, parker gonna get beat, who else major is there?

Ortiz got beat yes, but as of this moment I think he's still a serious contender.
Just for arguments sake if he fought either Joshua or Fury right now would you consider him to be a big outsider ?
If he fought Fury there's a better than average chance he may actually start the fight a favorite.

[jamamb]

thats not the issue, the issue is that there arent really many more 'big fight' opponents left to make aj-wilder a 2m ppv, at least in the us, neither aj or wilder tend to even get a million or much over that on 'free' widely brodcast stations or showtime, let alone ppv

but ya, i would easily have aj the favoruite over ortiz, i think hed beat him easier then wilder did. fury im not sure what hell have left but it wouldnt surprise me if its not as much as before and i could see ortiz beating him no doubt.

[Evander]

2M probably not at this point I agree.
But hype promotion and eye catching knock outs can do wonders if it's put together properly.
Get Deontay on the late night talk show circuit and things might start buzzing, this weekends fight was very good for him.
Let's get Joshua out here and start drumming this thing up.

[Badhusker]

People tend to like exciting fighters and a vulnerable guy that forever feels like he's only 1 punch away from either knocking you out or getting knocked out is damn sure exciting.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Hard to love a guy that is a loudmouth, but keeping people on the edge of their seat in case of a ko is what draws fans.
We all know he is technically flawed, but everyone loves a KO.
Fury says he will give Wilder a hiding? Talk is cheap.

[Taansend]

Because the only way to restore boxing in America is to have exciting fighters from America being successful.

Especially heavyweights.

Mayweather, while incredibly successful, hurt the sport with average fans.

Hopefully after Wilder we get another exciting American heavyweight because it's good for the sport both here and abroad.

Great points!! Add to that the excitement factor that Wilder brings to every fight. Even when he is fighting someone way below him in ability he seems to fight down to the level of his opposition. While that is NOT good for his legacy it does draw lots of viewers and if Deontay and AJ continue on their unbeaten paths, their PPV could eventually be the first heavyweight PPV to break 2 million buys!! (Holyfield-Tyson II did 2 million even.)

Best-case scenario for the HWs would be a 6'4", 220# American fighter with the dedication and natural talent of an Errol Spence. Not likely but its nice to dream...

I'm a a British boxing fan who lives in America so I just want a little bit more interest in the sport & an exciting Heavy is the way to do it.

Even though he is 32 Wilder looks like he has 3 years left in him so I hope he has some success.

And success breeds success.

LET'S MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN (in heavyweight boxing)

[tigermoth87]

I dislike him for his piss poor opponents until Ortiz.

But I can deny he's a fun fighter because of his vulnerabilities. The guy was competitive vs crappy Szpilka.

There's the sense that anybody in the division has a chance of knocking him out.

[Ilya Muromets]

I dislike him for his piss poor opponents until Ortiz.

But I can deny he's a fun fighter because of his vulnerabilities. The guy was competitive vs crappy Szpilka.

There's the sense that anybody in the division has a chance of knocking him out.

Szpilka is not "crappy".

So they like him because he's "crappy" and vulnerable. The Klitsckos won fight after fight without even getting their hair mussed. So they thought they were boring. Is that the way it goes?

I don't like him because he's loud and obnoxious. So is Tyson Fury except there is an intellect and humor with him, but not with Wilder.

Strange what people like and don't like.

[Kalan]

they are a huge way off 2 m ppvs , at least in the us

what are deontays tv numbers so far? mainly below 1m right? and thats either 'free' tv or showtime

things is too, ortiz got beat, parker gonna get beat, who else major is there?

You have the wrong idea about getting beat.... Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton, Lewis, Holyfield, Tyson, all got their asses BEAT... So what if they DID??? IT'S A GAME!!! If you fight high drama fights you're GOING to lose some... All the above got beaten a few times, but their rematches drew bigger numbers because of the drama of their fights... Their names got bigger and bigger.. It's the FAME that sells... It's the DRAMA that sells... It's NOT the O that sells.

Wilder-Ortiz wasn't big because they were undefeated... It was big because both men were took big risks... They could be knocked cold any moment... Wilder was a punch away from getting blasted out... So was Ortiz... If they fought 2 years ago they'd have a trilogy completed by now... Both would be rich -- and more bankable, even with losses.

Let the O go... What was the richest Heavyweight Fight of ALL TIME??? ... How many losses did the 2 fighters have??? And Ortiz and Wilder were both undefeated.... And how much money did they make in comparison???

[jamamb]

its not the 0 itself, more the fact that who is left to build them up to 2m ppv levels, at least in us

just think about it, in the us they cant even do 2m on 'free' tv

[Kalan]

Well.... Marciano had a brilliant record and didn't pull the biggest bucks... He looked like the local clerk at the meat market.. Patterson had a brilliant record and didn't do real big money until Johansson came along... Ingo had personality and a big right hand... Each of their fights were bigger and captured the world's imagination... They were high drama events.

Ali was great for Boxing because he generated tons of publicity... Some of it was negative but who cares??? Spell the name right and get the story out there... The Dempsey-Tunney fights had a certain chemistry that worked like crazy... Sometimes it's weird and you don't know what it is..... The public gets really excited and nobody can figure it out.

Joshua has tons of charisma.. He radiates personality.. When he comes here things are going to explode... Wilder tries too hard and falls flat. The man busts his ass trying to be a character... It gives people the idea that he's a clown... People dismiss him... They don't care about him one way or the other because he doesn't act the part... They have to love you or hate you in order to care about the fight... Mayweather had the egotistic ass nailed down to a T.. Nobody was better at it.

[caldo2025]

I think that Wilder is earning his fans one at a time right now...like it should be. Some fans jumped on the bandwagon right off the bat when his bogus and padded record was manufactured. Not me. I actually felt that Wilder was a joke until the Szpilka fight. The punch that he ended that tough fight was special. You don't see a jackhammer like that anymore in the division. Slowly i've come along and now with the Ortiz win, he deserves respect now as a legitimate champion IMO. Maybe not love...but full respect. He's now earned the right to be able to say he was the heavyweight champion of the world 30 years from now.