Deontay Wilder: Can He Have as Much Public Appeal as Mike Tyson Did?

By Jeffrey “Italian Medallion” Cellini

On July 16th, Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder, 36-0, 35 KO’s is the reigning WBC Heavyweight champion and will be making his fourth title defense against Chris Arreola in Birmingham, Alabama. Even with an undefeated record, he has been overlooked by the casual sports fan. Does Wilder have the potential of breaking through and becoming a mainstream superstar in America?

The “Bronze Bomber” already has established himself in the boxing world by winning one of the heavyweight titles, but what else does he have to do to move up in the class of elites in the sports world. Maybe comparing some of his accomplishments with a former great like Mike Tyson can shed some light on this subject. If Wilder can stay on course, he can shortly surpass “Iron” Mike Tyson’s accomplishments in the ring. However, Tyson was seen by the public as a dominate champion. Whether or not the champion can surpass the Hall-of-Famer’s mystic is another matter though?

“Iron” Mike Tyson, 50-6, 44 KO’s received national attention because of two factors. One, he began his career with 19 straight knockouts (which was then a record for heavyweights) and then he proceeded to win the undisputed heavyweight crown at very young age (20 years, 4 months, 22 days old). Furthermore, Tyson had an aura of invincibility attached to his name. Deontay Wilder did begin his own career with an amazing streak of 32 stoppage victories. Unfortunately, Deontay will not be able to match Tyson as far as becoming the youngest heavyweight champion of all-time. However, the “Bronze Bomber” can amass credentials that can exceed the former world champion Mike Tyson in the very near future.

Mike Tyson won WBC World Heavyweight championship against Trevor Berbick in November of 1986 and won the WBA World Heavyweight championship against “Bonecrusher” Smith in his next fight in March of 1987. He then won the IBF Heavyweight title from Tony Tucker to unify all three of the major organizations with unanimous decision in August of 1987. In his eighth championship fight, Tyson won the “lineal” title from Michael Spinks in June of 1988. Mike Tyson lost undisputed title to James “Buster” Douglas in February of 1990 in his 10th title defense (3rd title defense of lineal/Ring championship). Tyson’s mystic was built on his explosive knockouts in the early rounds of his fights, but was never a great finisher in the later rounds of his bouts. Mike Tyson eventually did regain two of his heavyweight titles, and his aura of domination began again.

Deontay Wilder has proven in his four world title fights that he is a great finisher, scoring late round knockout victories in three of them. Unlike Tyson, the “Bronze Bomber” has shown himself capable of ending any of his fights late in any bout. Tyson was only 12-4 in heavyweight title fights, something that Wilder can easily match by being very active. Still, Wilder needs to create an aura about himself that makes him appealing to the American public. The WBC Heavyweight champion may have to do several things to gain more exposure, which may include stealing a page out of another legendary heavyweight champion’s book.

The “Bronze Bomber” can do a few things to elevate himself to elite status in the sports world. First, he must come across as the dominate champion of the heavyweight division, which he can do by notching a string of easy title defenses together (quite a few heavyweight champions have done this during their reigns). Champions are usually considered dominate when they start to compile a long string of title defenses. Larry Holmes was seen as the face of the heavyweight division for nearly a decade because he was able to defend his belt for twenty consecutive times (seven years) while the other title holders failed to defend their belts for more than two or three times.

Second, he must grab the Ring (“lineal”) title from the winner of the Tyson Fury/Wladimir Klitschko fight, which is scheduled later in this year. This would thrust him to the top of the list of heavyweights in the world and give him the universal title as champion. He does not necessarily have to become undisputed champion right away, not as long as he establishes himself as the top dog. Larry Holmes was often considered to be the “universal” champion even though he was never the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Finally, Wilder must declare that he has the potential of breaking Joe Louis’ record of 25 successful title defenses. The casual sports fan will gravitate to an athlete that is on the threshold of breaking a long held record, especially if it was once deemed impossible. Just as Tiger Woods once threatened Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles, Wilder must show that his career is on path to break the “Brown Bomber’s” record. Whether or not he actually threatens the record does not matter. It will be a statement that draws the casual fan to pay attention to his fights. Just as the home run record is significant in baseball, the record of consecutive successful title defenses is important in the boxing world, especially for heavyweights.

Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder is only making his fourth title defense, but he must claim to the American public that he is going to make history. The public wants a dominate heavyweight champion. “Iron” Mike Tyson for a short time gave the impression that he was going to rule the division for an extended period of time. The public still talks about aura of invincibility that Tyson had for a short time. However, Wilder can take the route that Holmes took by just recording title defense after title defense, even if his resume is filled with weaker contenders. By setting his sights on the record number of title defenses, Wilder can propel himself to the status of elite. The mainstream gravitates to the athlete who embraces the challenge of being an all-time great.

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