Watch: rising boxing superstar brutalizes opponent to go 40-0
Back in the early 1940s, before he went off to fight in World War II, Joe Louis used to put on spectacles as the heavyweight champion against a series of opponents who came to be known in the boxing press of the day as the Bum of the Month Club.
Today, in 2018, the bums may not be monthly, but WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has the spectacle down to a sweet science, as he ran his record to 40-0 — all save one of his victories coming by way of knockout — with a win over Cuba’s Luis Ortiz on Saturday night.
Since 2015, when he won the WBC’s version of the heavyweight strap in the only decision of his career over Bermane Stiverne, this is the seventh time he has successfully defended his title. But this was Wilder’s first win over an opponent anywhere near his caliber, as Ortiz came into the fight with a 28-0 record.
The series of rabbit punches and wild-swinging haymakers to end the fight in the 10th round wasn’t the prettiest sequence in boxing history, but it was effective.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf42ADuAYSk/
Indeed, Ortiz gave Wilder all he could handle, especially in the seventh round, when he nearly floored his opponent.
.@BronzeBomber remains standing. #WilderOrtiz pic.twitter.com/79QS8zQuSb
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) March 4, 2018
The comments on that tweet speak volumes; many in the thread suggested that if the roles had been reversed and Wilder was the one dishing the beatdown in that seventh round, the referee would have stopped the fight.
ESPN, meanwhile, pointed out that Wilder is setting records with all his knockouts.
En route to his 7th successful title defense, Deontay Wilder improves to 40-0 (39 KO) with his 10th-round TKO of Luis Ortiz, retaining the WBC Heavyweight title. Wilder's 39 knockouts in his first 40 fights are the most among any heavyweight champion in history. pic.twitter.com/36PYvxJPN6
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 4, 2018
But consider this. In Wilder’s first 32 fights, he mainly fought on the Alabama club circuit, one of the weakest jurisdictions in the sport.
Four of his seven title defenses were in Alabama, and they weren’t exactly against a murderer’s row of opposition; a well-past-his-prime Chris Arreola and a win in the rematch with Stiverne in Brooklyn were the best of the lot.
A good argument could be made that Ortiz was the first legitimate opponent of Wilder’s career, and he nearly got stopped in the seventh round.
There is a lot of noise being made about a unification fight between Wilder and lineal heavyweight champion of the world Tyson Fury, regarded by many as the “real” champion due to the fact that he beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
That fight will no doubt decide the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
The question is whether Wilder’s Bum of the Month Club will mean he is remembered like Joe Louis … or like post-Buster Douglas Mike Tyson.
There’s only one way to settle it, and that will be in the ring.
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