By Charles Brun: Promoter Eddie Hearn says Deontay Wilder would lose to Dillian Whyte, Oleksandr Usyk, and Anthony Joshua in the same way he did to Tyson Fury last Saturday night.
Hearn feels that Wilder’s poor engine would fail him with the fast pace that Joshua, Whyte, and Usyk would set for him.
With that being said, Hearn states that Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) could also knock all three of them out if he connected with a big shot like he did last Saturday night in knocking Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) down twice in the fourth round at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It might be a problem for Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) and Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) mixing it up with the ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder because those guys have shown vulnerability against punchers.
If Wilder tapped Whyte or Joshua with his right hand, they might keel over and not get up in time to beat the count.
Joshua couldn’t even handle the lighter shots from former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) in their fight last month on September 25th.
Usyk had Joshua within an eyelash of being knocked out in the final seconds in the 12th round. If Joshua can’t take Usyk’s power, how is he going to take Deontay’s?
Wilder loses to Usyk, Whyte & Joshua
“I think people want to see Wilder against everybody,” said Hearn to the DAZN Boxing Show. “He’s never going to be in a bad fight. He’s either going to end up on his back or knocking somebody out.
“Dillian Whyte would do the exact same that Tyson did but in terms of being too big and too strong. He could also get knocked out.
“He [Whyte] would lean on him [Deontay], he would rough him up, and he would make him empty his tank.
“Dillian Whyte can go 12 rounds with no problems with a good pace. Heavy, 19 stone, lean on you, and he would do the same as Tyson did to him[Wilder].
“But he could also get knocked out. I feel that AJ is much too sharp, much too good combination, much too technician for him [Deontay], but also could get knocked out.
‘Oleksandr Usyk could school Deontay Wilder, but also could get knocked out. Deontay is always going to be live in any fight he’s in.
“He’s never been technically that good. Wilder is an athlete that’s found boxing. What Wilder showed on Saturday was tremendous heart,” said Hearn.
It’s possible that Wilder would lose to Usyk, Joshua, and Whyte, as Hearn says. If Wilder doesn’t take care of his stamina problem that he showed itself in his last two fights with Fury, he’d be at risk of losing to those three fighters.
At the same time, it’s questionable whether Joshua, Usyk, or Whyte could take Wilder’s power for more than one round without folding.
The shots that Wilder dropped Fury with in the fourth round likely would have put Joshua, Whyte, and Usyk asleep.
Even with a long count, those three might not wake up in time to get back up. Those are good heavyweights, but they’re not going to be able to take Wilder’s power.
Hearn: Fury beat Wilder with conditioning
“It’s difficult coming off a layoff like that. I don’t think either guy could say ‘I boxed great, but who cares?'” said Hearn on the Fury vs. Wilder III fight last Saturday night. “It was a great battle.
“It was kind of like Tyson did it all over again. Deontay couldn’t stand up after three rounds.
“I don’t know what he does with his nervous energy, but he came out, worked the body really well in the first round, and then his tank emptied right away. For five rounds, he survived on just heart, and he couldn’t stand up.
“I think in any other situation, the towel would have come in a round or two before,” said Hearn about Wilder. “Because of what happened last time, that was never going to happen.
“As they say, he went out on his shield. I think he’ll be commended for that, but you don’t want to have many fights like that.
“I think that fight and the fight before; it’s going to take a toll on him [Wilder] and his career. That’s the game, but a tremendous heart.
“And Fury, he was knocked over with a right hand, and he was all over the place.
“The difference was the conditioning. Tyson Fury doesn’t look like he’s been in the gym, but he will do 12 rounds at a good pace.
“Deontay Wilder has no engine, but he’s always dangerous, and we saw that with his right hand.
“In the end, it was just conditioning that won the fight and the ability to stay on our feet for longer. It was a fight of the year for me so far,” said Hearn.
It’s obvious that the ONLY reason Fury beat Wilder is that he had the better conditioning of the two. We don’t know if Wilder had a leg problem in the camp that prevented him from doing cardio work, but you got to wonder.
As tired as Wilder looked after the first round last Saturday, something wasn’t right with his conditioning. Did Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott skip over the cardio work or what?