Deontay Wilder’s trainer, Malik Scott, has waded into the debate on whether or not his man is the hardest hitting heavyweight in the history of the sport.
Wilder has 42 knockouts from 43 wins, and the one victory that went the distance – Bermaine Stiverne – was revisited and ended early two years later.
What’s perhaps most impressive is that, in relative terms, Wilder is a small-framed heavyweight. He made his professional debut just 7lbs over the cruiserweight limit, and his last fight against Robert Helenius – a first round knockout via his third punch connected – he weighed in at 214lbs.
Scott – who has trained Wilder for two fights now – was asked by ES News to name the biggest puncher in boxing history. He answered immediately, and said there was no debate.
“Deontay Wilder. Because of what he do to opponents. He don’t [just] knock them down. I’ve seen him give opponents seizures, I’ve seen him knock guys out. And I’m not [just] talking about the fights – sparring I’ve seen him do this in.”
“There’s no getting around it, at this point. If you go back and do the studies on history of hard heavyweight punchers, and looks at their opposition and how they reacted when they got hit, and look at the reaction of [Wilder’s opponents.]”
Scott pointed to the Sergey Liakhovich, Robert Helenius and Artur Szpilka knockouts as a guide to just how hard his man hits.
Of course, Scott himself has been stopped in the ring by Wilder. The pair faced off back in 2014 and the now-trainer suffered a KO loss in the first round. Highlight reel, though, it was not.
The one man who has managed to stand up to the power – at least during a professional contest – is Tyson Fury. Despite holding two victories over Wilder – three if you ask him – Fury was knocked over four times in their trilogy of bouts.
He told The Overlap that the American does have dynamite in his fists.
“I’ve been boxing all my life and I’d never heard of this knockout power where he touches you and you fall over. I wasn’t convinced about the power of the Alabama Slammer, the 40 odd knockouts in the row. I thought it must be a gimmick.
I wasn’t bothered about the power. I fought Klitschko who had 60 odd knockouts and it didn’t effect me. So I gets in there, I’m thinking this is easy this. All of a sudden, I’ve went to block a jab and I’ve felt his knuckle go right through my hand. It nearly broke my hand … He really does have the power where you don’t feel it.”
Whilst there may be some recency bias on Wilder and his place in the top power punchers of all time, numbers don’t lie, and the American’s right hand has notched up plenty.
There’s also the pound-for-pound aspect to consider, which brings in a whole host of other names. A debate that will never be settled, but a fun one to have.