Deontay Wilder and the Next Great American Heavyweight

This weekend, WBC titlist Deontay Wilder will be stepping into the ring to defend his portion of the heavyweight crown against Johann Duhaupas in Birmingham, Alabama. While Duhaupas doesn't necessarily represent the most significant challenge in boxing, Wilder's continued campaign in the division does. Wilder is by no means the recognized heavyweight champion of today, but he is the first American to hold a piece of the crown in over eight years, and that fact alone could inspire some excitement in what has been a barren wasteland of a division for the past decade.

A large part of the decline of boxing is due to the lack of a great heavyweight champion. There is of course a recognized champion in Wladimir Klitschko, but there are two things working against the 6-foot-6 Ukrainian. First is his fighting style. Second is his citizenship.

For those who haven't seen a Klitschko fight, you could say he makes Floyd Mayweather Jr. look exciting. His heavyweight match-ups mostly consist of a pawing jab, cautiously followed by a seldom right hand, and plenty of clinching in between. Like Mayweather, Klitschko is a safety-first fighter. Much of that is because he's been knocked out brutally in the past by questionable opposition, and he uses his 81-inch limbs to keep opponents safely on the outside, or tie them up like an octopus when they get in dangerous striking range. There's no question that it's an effective strategy (as Klitschko has remained untouched for nearly 14 years), and technically speaking, it's a smart approach for someone of his shortcomings. But few people like to watch it.

The second matter is that Klitschko rules in what is a traditionally American landscape. In the long history of the sport, there have maybe been a handful of non-American fighters that have been recognized as the definitive heavyweight champion of the world, and the few that have, hardly garnered the type of fanfare as say a Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, or Mike Tyson. That's not a knock against foreign-born fighters or to say that nationality is the sole determinant of greatness, but as crude as it is, fans simply pay less attention to fighters they can't resonate with, and the United States has been the financial and cultural staple of professional boxing since almost its inception. So if you're not from the capital of the sport, you at least better be exciting.

Enter Deontay Wilder, America's most recent attempt at heavyweight greatness. He beat out the Haitian-Canadian Bermane Stiverne on points for the WBC belt in January of this year, making him the first American heavyweight to hold a title belt since 2007, his predecessor being Shannon Briggs who held the lightly regarded WBO belt for seven months. There were plenty of other Americans that held belts before that, but the last American fighter to be known as the recognized heavyweight champion was probably the late-90s version of Evander Holyfield. In other words, enough time has passed for someone to be born and earn a driver's license since we last saw a great American heavyweight.

Another speculation as to why America has seemingly fallen from top division of the sport is because other contests like football and basketball draw away most of the nation's capable athletes. With better pay and more structured league accountability, the choice makes sense. For Wilder, the scenario was actually reversed as he played both starting wide receiver and power forward for his high school football and basketball team, even earning an athletic scholarship from Alabama University. Instead, he turned to boxing as a means to provide for a newborn daughter, Naieya Wilder.

Naieya, a charming girl of 10, was born of spina bifida, a birth defect of the spinal cord that requires costly operations to minimize the chance of permanent handicap later in life. It was the sole reason Wilder opted for employment in menial labor in place of a university scholarship, and sought boxing as a way out. Unlike most origin stories in the sport, Wilder didn't grow up in the boxing gym or begin training early in life; instead he started comparatively late at the age of 20, and already had a host of life concerns before learning the fundamentals. The climb was certainly not going to be an easy one.

Wilder skyrocketed through the amateurs, however, setting a record by winning a Golden Gloves tournament in under 20 bouts, and was the only fighter to medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making him the last male fighter to medal at the Games since. His moniker, "The Bronze Bomber", is in reference to his Olympic endeavors as well as homage to "The Brown Bomber" Joe Louis. What is perhaps more impressive is that Wilder worked full-time jobs during his entire amateur career, working first as a patty flipper at Burger King, then as a busser at IHOP, then Red Lobster, and finally as a truck driver for the local Budweiser distributor. He kept his job shucking beer cases two years into his pro career until the sport provided enough income for fighting to be his sole profession.

Today, Wilder carries an undefeated record consisting of an impressive 33KOs in 34 contests. The main criticism against him is that the names listed on that resume aren't exactly the most formidable, though he has beaten decent opposition in Siarhei Liakhovich and Malik Scott, and his win against Stiverne proved he could take some punches and go the distance if need be. Wilder has the record, the backstory and the physicality to become the next great American heavyweight, but there are also a number questions regarding "The Bronze Bomber". Can he take a punch from the likes of Klitschko? How does he react in the ring when hurt? And most importantly, does he have the passion? Financial need is a perfectly reasonable motive to get started in the sport, but there has to be a certain love for boxing to carry you the rest of the way through. It's unclear how deep that love runs for Wilder.

While this weekend's fight may not answer any of those questions, it may be a stepping-stone to having them answered soon. Should Wilder win as expected this weekend, he'll presumably face off in the following bout against former WBA titlist Alexander Povetkin, his toughest opponent to date. Should Wilder get pass Povetkin, then sights will be set on Klitschko and unifying the heavyweight belts. Only then can the United States truly make claim to the heavyweight champion of the world.

It's not certain whether or not Deontay Wilder is the next coming of a great American heavyweight champion. I myself find him a bit robotic and think he holds his chin dangerously high in exchanges. But he's also improving with every appearance and has a determined willingness to learn. There is certainly hope in Wilder becoming the next great heavyweight champ, and that just might be enough for audiences to give boxing another look.

Wilder vs. Duhaupas will be televised on September 26th, 8:30ET on NBC's Premier Boxing Championship series.