Weaknesses for Each Man
Wilder
At this point Deontay Wilder’s chin is still a question mark in boxing. There are early videos of Wilder hitting the canvas with headgear on during his amateur career, suggesting his chin isn’t very strong, but we have yet to see in his chin be tested in his professional career.
Fighters either have a good chin or they don’t. However there are some workarounds that can mitigate the obstacle of having a glass jaw such as neck exercises (to better take punches), tight defense to protect the jaw (i.e. glove position and head movement), and the development of optimal balance and leg strength.
We can’t know for sure if Wilder uses these tactics in his training but if he does have a soft chin, they would make it less of a problem in the ring. Wilder has a habit of dropping his hands in mid and close range of his opponents and dropping his opposite hand when punching. He gets away with this habit mainly because of his height and reach, and he may very well get away with it when facing Bermane Stiverne.
Considering his chin though, this might not be a risk Wilder should take since Stiverne can box much better than his previous opponents. The smarter guy might be able to find his chin quickly and Wilder will find himself sitting on the canvas.
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Stiverne
Bermane Stiverne spends too much time headhunting. If he uses the same course of action against Deontay Wilder, he’ll find himself at a dead-end or even worse, knocked out.
With Wilder towering at 6’6½” tall, Stiverne still needs to use his jab but also focus on getting to Wilder’s body and then getting out. Shaking things up a bit will keep Wilder guessing and let Stiverne find a craftier way to get to Wilder’s chin.
I’m curious to see if and how Stiverne can take away Wilder’s right hand. Stiverne should not make the mistake of retreating to the ropes or sitting on exchanges with Wilder as he did in the rematch with Chris Arreola.
Now with Arreola, Stiverne most likely felt out his power and realized he could exchange with him. Soft chin or not, Wilder is much stronger than Arreola, so letting Wilder beat on him is not an advisable tactic. Stiverne will have to figure out another way to feel out Wilder’s power and move forward with his game plan.
