Bermane Stiverne Vs Deontay Wilder - January 17 (OFFICIAL DISCUSSION)

Stiverne/Wilder 
Janurary 17, 2015
MGM Grand
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Main Card:
Deontay Wilder (32W 0L 0D 32KOs) vs Bermane Stiverne (24W 1L 1D 21KOs) - WBC World heavyweight title
 
Leo Santa Cruz  (28W 0L 1D 16KOs)   vs   Jesus Ruiz  (33W 5L 5D 22KOs)   - super bantamweight
 
Fidel Maldonado Jr  (19W 2L 0D 16KOs)   vs   Amir Imam  (15W 0L 0D 13KOs)   - light welterweight


For boxing fans, and in particular heavyweight boxing fans, January 17th is already shaping up to be one of the most anticipated heavyweight fights since the Tyson era. Hard punching Haitian Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) takes on the #1 ranked Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) in a fight that pits two devastating punchers in the ring for Stiverne’s WBC title.


It has all the makings of a coming out party…with the winner likely to emerge as the most talked about North American fighter in the world. And it was clear after a telephone conference last week that both fighters were already throwing bombs.


“January 17 will be a short night,” WBC champion Bermane Stiverne said early in the press conference, “A short, painful night.”


Although most boxing insiders are predicting a slugfest, Stiverne refused to make any predictions. “Instead of telling you about it here, I will show you…Don’t blink!”


Wilder, who has yet to make it past the fourth round in any of his professional fights, dismissed questions about his endurance or ability to take the fight into the later rounds. “I’m not an amateur boxer,” Wilder added. “I know my skills and my ability. The hard work is done in the gym. Nothing has ever been given to me. I’ve had to work for everything I’ve ever gotten. I don’t know what the easy road is. There is nothing in the back of my mind about going past four rounds. We can go back to 15 if you want.”


Wilder also refused to make a firm prediction, although he made it abundantly clear that he remained confident going into the fight.


“The best man of the night will win,” Wilder added, “and I already know who is the best man. It’s my time to make history. I’m giving American their next heavyweight world champion. I’m on my way to becoming the heavyweight champion of the world, I’ve had to work hard for it and it’s my time…I have heard nothing but excuses for my 32 wins by KO and when I get 33, I don’t want to hear anything about it!”



http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/wilder-stiverne-trade-jabs-teleconference-274716#more-274716

Really looking forward to this fight.

Should be an exciting heavyweight match.

My prediction is Stiverne by KO in the 3rd round.

I've definitely got Stiverne. But I can't count Wilder out. His power is very real. And he might rise to the occasion. He's had an unusual climb, being that 93% of his opponents were cab drivers, but he also won an Olympic bronze medalist after boxing for 2 years and after a total of about 15-20 amateur fights (along the way, also winning the US golden gloves and the US championship, and the US Olympic trials, and placing second at the Americas qualifier).  

I have Stiverne as a heavy favorite though. But I sort of hope Wilder pulls it off.

Great analysis nodogoshi.

Stiverne is the rightful favorite but Wilder has a chance to answer many questions in this fight. Will he be able to handle the step up in competition? If he goes past the first few rounds will his cardio hold up?

Don was Don on this call, mispronouncing his fighter's name, saying this fight will help the cause of world peace, and on and on.

Lol. Don still at it even though he's in his 80's.

I just saw the odds for this fight on Bovada:

Deontay "The Bronze Bomber" Wilder	1.59
Bermane "B. WARE" Stiverne	2.40

Wilder a pretty big favorite. Actually slightly surprised.

Wilder is the favorite because he's the American, has the 32 KO's and is getting more of the hype in the media.

I still think it's a close match up but..lean slightly towards Bermane winning.

Super excited for this show.

Looking forward to watching it Saturday night.

Very intense final press conference for the fight.

It's just a press conference but pretty entertaining and worth watching.

Wilder seemed excited just to be there and was all smiles while talking trash. Stiverne looked serious and focused.



At about 6 minutes is when Wilder starts to run his mouth pretty good. Stiverne starts to get really going at 21 minutes and looks like he's ready to hurt Wilder.

Have a lot of anticiptaion for this fight.

Already have my day lined up.

Wake up and work out. Go out and get a few things done. Then come home cook up a bunch of food and get drunk and watch this fight on Showtime.

WBC heavyweight champion Bermaine Stiverne weighed in 239lbs at for his initial world title defense against unbeaten #1 challenger Deontay Wilder on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Wilder scaled in at 219.

Intense 25 second staredown, Wilder looked away first.


Stiverne: Eyes don’t lie. I could see in his eyes, he’s not ready for this.

Wilder: I’m going to beat him to within an inch of his life.



Other weights:

Leo Santa Cruz 121.5 vs. Jesus Ruiz 122
(WBC super bantamweight title)

Fidel Maldonado Jr. 139 vs. Amir Imam 140



http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/stiverne-outweighs-wilder-20lbs-276335

That's Wilder's lightest weight since 2012-6-23.

Stiverne also looks to be in good shape, compared to his recent weigh-ins.

On Friday Night Fights, Teddy Atlas picked Wilder by 1st or 2nd round KO. He said that Bermaine likes to counter, and he won't be able to get close enough to Wilder, and he'll basically just be a sitting duck for Wilder's big right hand.

Imagine Jon Jones fighting someone his own size. One punch and Jones is deaded.

Stiverne Interview:


How are you feeling champ? How is your training camp going?

Great. Excellent.


What have these last few months as champion been like for you?

I’m a low key guy. I don’t get myself out there. But in terms of the fans and the people who watch boxing, I get a lot of attention. Actually there is more people that walk up to me and want to take pictures and talk a bit. That’s little different then it was.


Your opponent is noted for being something of a “trash talker”, a sharp contrast to you. Does his trash talking in any way upset you, or perhaps motivate you?

No, of course not. This is not Jeopardy. It’s not a battle of words. Now I think it’s very immature. Pretty much everything he does or says on social media, I don’t pay attention. I don’t watch or read what he has to say.


You’ve never fought a fighter so clouded in mystery. Many sports fans are not sure if Wilder is the second coming of Mike Tyson or the second coming of Peter McNeely due to the fact that he has never really been tested. Is there something that you’ve seen in the tapes however that you think gives you a clue as to what he really brings to the table?

I mean, pretty much I see what everyone else sees. To me, I think he’s a fraud. I don’t think he deserves to be fighting for the title and that’s why I’m not with it. But what is worse is that he is not even ready to fight at this level. What will be even worse is that I’m the best and I train myself like I was fighting the best fighter out there. Whatever (lack of) experience he has in his thirty two fights, he will have to deal with it when he faces me.


What do you think is Wilder’s greatest strength? What is his biggest weakness?

Honestly, all these questions will be answered January 17th. I’m going for the unknown. That I’m fighting the most dangerous fighter and that is how I prepare myself. Those questions will be answered January 17th.


Let’s talk about you. You have shown a tremendous ability to adapt to your opponent in recent fights. How do you expect this fight to go?

This fight will be a knockout. That is guaranteed. No other way. I don’t see this fight goes the distance. I would be surprised if this fight will go more than 5 or 6 rounds, and I think I’m being generous when I say 5 or 6 rounds. It will come down to how much he can take.


What is your greatest strength as a fighter?

I think I don’t waste my punches.


As a world champion, what would a win over Wilder mean for you?

No impact. Just be glad I will be able to shut his mouth.


What impact would it have on your career?

The only impact is that…that it will show people, those people who think he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, what he is. A lot of people believe in him. He has a terrific record; he has a better record than Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali. The pressure isn’t on me. The pressure is on him.


Finally, is there any message for your fans?

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I send all my regards and appreciation to all my fans. The only thing I can give them is a victory.




http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/stiverne-think-hes-fraud-dont-think-deserves-fighting-title-276479#more-276479

Why Tonight's Heavyweight Title Fight Shouldn't Be On The Level by Charles Farrell
http://deadspin.com/why-tonights-heavyweight-title-fight-shouldnt-be-on-the-1680135638

Charles Farrell is very knowledgeable and he's fun to read. I really enjoyed his article 'Why I Fixed Fights' (in which he essentially admits to complicity in criminal acts, but perhaps the statute of limitations are up), and I've liked to hear him on NHB News.

I'm sure he's forgot more about the business of boxing than I'll ever know (I mean that in the literal sense, not the cliche. Actually it probably goes without saying).

But that article is quite a bit too cynical for me.

He doesn't like Wilder and doesn't respect him as a real fighter (I don't particularly like him either, although I do respect him as a fighter and I actually think he's a little bit of a phenom. Winning an Olympic medal on 2 years of boxing and within 20 amateur fights--the only American medal in boxing in the past two Olympics--is phenomenal in and of itself).

He makes some decent points. But I really don't believe there is a grand conspiracy to fix Wilder-Stiverne and then fix W. Klitschko-Briggs, and set up Wilder-Klitschko, which would be the most lucrative heavyweight boxing fight (lol at that bit alone).

I think that Wilder's people see Stiverne as a guy who is very beatable. Farrell just has no respect for Wilder and believes he could never beat Stiverne in a fair fight, so there must be a fix. It's either sour grapes or cynicism in extreme excess. That's my take on the article.

Imam-Maldonado was crazy just now.

I agree Imam-Maldonado was a very entertaining first fight of the night.

Look forward to following Imam in the rest of his career.

nodogoshi wrote:Charles Farrell is very knowledgeable and he's fun to read. I really enjoyed his article 'Why I Fixed Fights' (in which he essentially admits to complicity in criminal acts, but perhaps the statute of limitations are up), and I've liked to hear him on NHB News.

I'm sure he's forgot more about the business of boxing than I'll ever know (I mean that in the literal sense, not the cliche. Actually it probably goes without saying).

But that article is quite a bit too cynical for me.

He doesn't like Wilder and doesn't respect him as a real fighter (I don't particularly like him either, although I do respect him as a fighter and I actually think he's a little bit of a phenom. Winning an Olympic medal on 2 years of boxing and within 20 amateur fights--the only American medal in boxing in the past two Olympics--is phenomenal in and of itself).

He makes some decent points. But I really don't believe there is a grand conspiracy to fix Wilder-Stiverne and then fix W. Klitschko-Briggs, and set up Wilder-Klitschko, which would be the most lucrative heavyweight boxing fight (lol at that bit alone).

I think that Wilder's people see Stiverne as a guy who is very beatable. Farrell just has no respect for Wilder and believes he could never beat Stiverne in a fair fight, so there must be a fix. It's either sour grapes or cynicism in extreme excess. That's my take on the article.

I stand by my comments that Farrell was overly cynical in the article (I'm not sure that he literally was serious with that narrative, but he kind of gives the reader the impression of such, so forgive me for reading it that way).

He's largely correct.

Except that wasn't a fight which needed fixing. It isn't like Stiverne is anything special, and it's not like he's beaten anyone of note (Arreolla is his one name win (twice), which were good wins, but Arreolla never made it past fringe contender. He did fight for the WBC belt previously against Vitali, but he was utterly and completely outclassed, and received a horrible beating in the fight).

So, perhaps it was a story device.

That fight was a farce though and Wilder is an obvious fraud. Now he got 'a belt'. And now there is 'an American heavyweight champ'. And now they are going to milk it for all it is worth.

I don't know if Wilder ever fights Wlad. Talk about a horrible mismatch. The time might come to cash out. I guess we'll have to wait and see how all of it plays out.

By the way, I always thought that Arreolla was a worse matchup for Wilder than Stiverne. I hoped that Arreolla would win their fight simply so he could knock Wilder out. But Stiverne had Arreolla's number.

Nothing against Arreolla or Stiverne. They are both entertaining fighters, if they have their limitations. It is natural to be a little bit disgusted by the entire Wilder saga though. I guess it all started when he won his Olympic medal (which was a very good sporting achievement on his part). The vultures swept in, and thought they could steer him from there, I guess.

Hopefully I'll have Charles on later this week. We both expected a lot more from Stiverne.

Klitschko is now reported to be fighting Jennings in April at Madison Square Garden, on HBO, while Wilder is talking about a freak show match vs. Tyson Fury. Wilder is also with Al Haymon and Showtime, so here we go again. Perhaps if it gets to Klitschko vs. Wilder, NBC will step in in the U.S.

nhbnews wrote:Hopefully I'll have Charles on later this week. We both expected a lot more from Stiverne.

Klitschko is now reported to be fighting Jennings in April at Madison Square Garden, on HBO, while Wilder is talking about a freak show match vs. Tyson Fury. Wilder is also with Al Haymon and Showtime, so here we go again. Perhaps if it gets to Klitschko vs. Wilder, NBC will step in in the U.S.

I actually do indeed concede that it may well have been fixed.

I was casually reading and posting a little bit on the discussion thread on the boxingscene forum.

And around the 4th round or so, a particular poster, who I actually respect (there are legions and legions of trolls in that place, but a few good old boys here and there scattered about) literally posted 'don't tell me this fight is fixed. Stiverne is doing nothing.'

I immediately linked Farrel's, article, with the comment "Charles Farrel seems to think it is".

It got buried in the rubble and I'm not sure if he or anyone else really noticed it.

I'm very persuadable on this topic. I'm not trying to say I know which way is up and which way is down with respect to this subject. I'm just commenting with respect to my perceptions at any given time.

I was reading and posting on Steve Cunningham's Facebook page a bit earlier (on which he was active) (sparingly of course); though I messaged Cunningham after his fight with Fury, and have sort of had a presence on some of his Facebook threads since. There are often trolls who he'd become friends with, though I think he's purged a lot of them by now. I mostly posted today to attempt to mildly refute a few trolls. But Cunningham had some interesting commentary, and some interesting fellows also pop in, like Bowie Fisher's son. It might be worth a look at the threads, since you're a mutual friend to Cunningham on Facebook.

If you look at the WBC rankings, after Wilder, Povetkin is the next man, so that would presumably make him the #1 contender. Wilder's people will want absolutely nothing to do with Povetkin. I would bet that fight will never happen.

I just wrote elsewhere that I wouldn't be surprised if Wilder has a fight or two with the likes of, for instance, Manuel Charr, and/or even Takim (who might actually beat Wilder in a fair fight, but I wouldn't expect it to be one), both of whom are ranked in the WBC's top 15. All of this to set up a fight with Tyson Fury, the promotion of which would be perhaps a spectacle unparalleled in obnoxiousness, and which a gullible public would likely in the end buy. I think Fury is nothing special. But I think he's definitely better than Wilder, and quite a bit bigger too. I could see a fight with Fury being the pinnacle of Wilder's career. I see it more likely that Wilder will lose to Fury and that Fury will then fight Klitschko, than that Wilder will himself fight Klitschko (though you never now of course. That's partially predicated on that I think Fury would win.)

As I also wrote elsewhere, it feels really strange to say this. But I feel like Jose Sullaiman is rolling in his grave right now.