Deontay Wilder to Make Yet Another Dubious Title Defense

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By Chris “Man of Few Words” Benedict

You have to travel all the way back to 1900 to recall the last time a heavyweight title fight occurred in Brooklyn. James J. Jeffries defended his championship successfully yet again by knocking out “Gentleman Jim” Corbett, former title holder and vanquisher of John L. Sullivan, in the 23rd round at Coney Island’s Seaside Athletic Center.

Three years into having established itself as a respectable prizefighting venue, the Barclays Center will play host on January 16 to boxing history by presenting the first heavyweight title defense to take place in that borough in well over a century. And we fight fans are rewarded for our infinite patience and dedication with…Deontay Wilder vs. Artur Szpilka?

WBC World Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder hoped to steal some thunder from Daniel Jacobs and Peter Quillin at Barclays last weekend by revealing an as-yet-unnamed opponent to promote what will be (like Jeffries’ before him) his third title defense. It was thought to have been against 3rd ranked Vyacheslav Glazkov, the 21-0-1 Ukrainian who was recently circumvented as Tyson Fury’s mandatory challenger by way of a rematch clause embedded within the new lineal champion’s contract with Wladimir Klitschko, the option for which the ex-champion chose to exercise. When the IBF stripped Fury of its portion of the title this past week, the sanctioning body matched Glazkov opposite Charles Martin instead to determine the new owner of their now vacant belt, throwing into unnecessarily further chaos the already unkempt quarters of boxing’s once storied heavyweight division.

So, with no contract signed as of last Saturday, Wilder crashed the Jacobs/Quillin pre-fight press event then climbed into the Barclays ring later that night to wave to the less-than-sellout crowd and smile for the Showtime cameras in what amounted to little more than superfluous photo-ops for the sake of salesmanship. Conjured earlier this week was the name Shannon Briggs, the unranked 44 year-old former heavyweight champion (before Wilder, the last American-born title holder) who has spent the last several years making a sorry spectacle of himself by haunting Wladimir Klitschko like the belligerent ghost of pugilism past. We came closer than I like to imagine to seeing Deontay and Shannon throw down, a shudder or laugh-inducing reality which was supposedly averted only by the Briggs camp’s request and denial of a $2 million dollar payday-a claim Shannon now laughs off as ludicrous, alleging that he would fight Wilder for free.
A media-savvy personality and fan-friendly knockout artist, there is a lot to like about Deontay Wilder. Indeed, he seems (like his haute couture outfits) to be tailor made for these times in which he exists. He has charisma and self-confidence which soar off the charts, a relatable backstory rooted in humble origins, the reputation of a dedicated and doting father to his daughter Naieya who was born with spina bifida, a punishing left jab which itself sets up a right hook that could decapitate a rhinoceros, and a cool nickname which pays proud homage to another heavyweight champion who hailed from Alabama, Joe Louis.

There is also much to be said, of course, concerning Wilder’s ring technique-so to speak, as there seems to be a deficiency of disciplined scientific approach in favor of a premium put on raw power. With 35 fights on his resume and a trainer as seasoned and scholarly as Mark Breland in his corner, Wilder remains a curious combination of world champion and work in progress. To begin the process of legacy building and the now more imposing task of title unification, Deontay’s level of opposition has simply got to gain credibility. While Fury and Klitschko are otherwise engaged for the immediate future, Glazkov is scrapping for their leftovers, and Alexander Povetkin is made once again to wait on the shoulder of the heavyweight highway holding his #1 contender status like a sign with WILL WORK FOR TITLE SHOT scrawled across it, the WBC is willing to indulge Wilder in partaking of a third voluntary defense, having previously been extended nine and eleven long grueling rounds against Eric Molina and Johann Duhaupas respectively.

What little is known of Szpilka includes his being the WBC Baltic and IBF International Heavyweight Champion and a soccer hooligan. The latter landed him an 18-month stint as a Category-N (dangerous) inmate of a Polish prison when he was arrested after the weigh-in for an October 2009 fight against Wojciech Bartnik for having participated in a violent melee between rival supporters of Vistula Cracov and KS Cracovia. Szpilka was also detained at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and deported to Poland by the Department of Homeland Security due to complications regarding his visa status prior to his Madison Square Garden showdown with Bryant Jennings in January 2014. Matters were eventually settled satisfactorily with the exception (for Szpilka, anyway) of the bout’s outcome as he was TKOd in the 10th and final round and Jennings was off and running on the fast track to a title shot at Wladimir Klitschko.

Szpilka has rebounded with four consecutive victories, including a very impressive performance in the process of outpointing fellow countryman Tomasz Adamek for recognition as the Republic of Poland’s International Heavyweight Champion. He also scored a 2nd round RTD win over Yasmany Consuerga on the non-televised undercard of the PBC broadcast from the Prudential Center this past August which saw Poland’s Krzysztof Glowacki snatch Marco Huck’s WBO Cruiserweight title belt with a Fight of the Year-worthy come from behind knockout.

Szpilka’s chances of pulling off a similarly stunning upset are as astronomically impossible to compute as a quantum mechanics equation. Even Lou DiBella doesn’t seem to have bought into his own promotion by serving up the unconvincing assurance that Szpilka “won’t stink the joint out” as if it were a cold dish that wasn’t even worthy of reheating.

When Deontay Wilder has finished gorging on what will hopefully be the last of the WBC’s table scraps, he has to bolt down a chair at the head of the main banquet table, sharpen those utensils, lick his chops, and dig into a kingly feast. Only then will he be able to guide his dinner guests on a tour through a trophy room the walls of which are mounted with highly desired prizes truly worth bragging about.

I find somehow disquieting the idea of previous WBC title-holder Bermane Stiverne fighting on the undercard of Wilder’s defense (opponent TBA). Maybe because I can imagine the WBC pulling some shenanigans such as granting Stiverne a rematch with Wilder, assuming both emerge victorious. Since Tyson Fury has already established himself as the heavyweight division’s village idiot, the need for the coronation of an undisputed king is strong. There are those already in a hurry to fit Deontay Wilder for that crown and others who dismiss him as a mere pretender to the throne. Both judgments, until proven one way or another inside the ring are simply premature. Speculation is most often akin to spitting in the wind and trying to fool yourself and others into believing you can accurately predict in which direction it is blowing. Typically, it just flies back in your own face.

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