Photo by Lucas Noonan/PBC
On September 26, 2015, Deontay Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs) scored an 11th-round TKO victory over Johann Duhaupas (32-3, 20 KOs) to successfully defend his WBC Heavyweight title at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
Duhaupas pushed forward early and confidently, and seemed to be a much tougher underdog than expected the 34-year-old native of France to be.
Wilder, however, was undaunted, and began finding his rhythm by using his footwork and jab.
By Rounds 4 and 5, the 29-year-old Alabama native began easily landing combinations, while Duhaupas began throwing fewer punches as the rounds progressed.
By Round 11, referee Jack Reiss was forced to stop the fight after Duhaupas took several uppercuts without responding.
Wilder’s WBC mandatory challenger is Alexander Povetkin, but it remains to be seen if that fight is a possibility.
“Hopefully, [Wladimir] Klitschko and I can fight sometime in the next year. We’ve got to get these mandatories out of the way first, so people have to stay patient. The key is to stay patient. This is a process and a business. That fight will surely come around as long as I keep winning, which I will, and as long as he keeps winning. That fight should come around real soon and we’ll have an undisputed world heavyweight champion, which will be me,” said Wilder after his victory.
What do you think of Wilder’s performance? Let us know in the comments section.
