Deontay Wilder will win but needs to do it in style, says Carl Froch
Friday 15 January 2016 11:42, UK
Deontay Wilder defends his WBC heavyweight title against Artur Szpilka live on Sky Sports this weekend and although he expects him to win, Carl Froch wants the Bronze Bomber to make a statement...
I'm looking forward to going out to New York to watch Deontay Wilder.
I like him and he is exactly what the sport needs. He brings excitement and entertainment and that is what we want to see. And it's what we need, especially in America and especially in the heavyweight division.
It is great to have an American heavyweight champion again and the WBC is a proper belt. Hopefully Wilder can make some proper noise now.
He struggled a bit in his last defence against Johann Duhaupas and was taken into the 11th round, and didn't really look like he was enjoying it. I remember Wilder getting caught a couple of times - and he wasn't much better against Erik Molina before that. That shows he is not unbeatable - but name me a heavyweight who is?
Like so many world champions, I get the feeling he is just establishing himself as the world champion by not really challenging himself against serious, serious threats. The one thing you can't fault is an unbeaten record but I am sure I am not alone when I want to see more from Wilder.
It would be great to see my old mate David Haye fight him but we've got to see where he's at when he returns on Saturday night, but I think we would all want to see Wilder fight Tyson Fury.
It could well be down to the level of challengers he's been in with - and don't get me wrong, I am sure they all gave it their all. I am expecting Artur Szpilka to give it a real go and he looks tough if nothing else. But we want to see Wilder turn it on, show us he is ready for a big step up.
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It would be great to see my old mate David Haye fight him but we've got to see where he's at when he returns on Saturday night, but I think we would all want to see Wilder fight Tyson Fury.
That would be one hell of a build-up! The press conference, the weigh-in would be something else and the fight itself would be incredibly exciting. Add that WBC belt and let's hope that Wilder is going out on Saturday night to make a statement.
Szpilka will have a go but Wilder should come through this quite comfortably and if he can do something decent, he - with that belt - can jump from fighting nobodies to the best around.
Wilder's not worried about what he says in and out of the ring, he's in the other guy's face at the press conference and even before that... he talks a good game. Now we want to see him match it in the ring.
As for New York, it will be nice to be there without training. Me and Rob McCracken spent time there before fighting Glen Johnson and Andre Ward in Atlantic City in 2011, at the Trinity Gym, so I didn't get to see much of the city. I didn't get to see much at all thanks to a hotel room you couldn't swing a cat in, either!
Of course, Las Vegas has been the boxing capital but New York is still a special place. Who can forget Naseem Hamed against Kevin Kelley? That is one of my favourite fights and even when you look back at Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and the rest fighting in Vegas, New York still stands out.
