Deontay Wilder vs. Artur Szpilka
Many fans have been critical of the level of opposition that Deontay Wilder has faced in his career. While many fighters build their resumes against lesser fighters early in their careers Wilder has faced two sub par opponents in his two title defenses since winning the WBC belt from Bermane Stiverne in early 2015. Wilder's third defense of that title will be this Saturday when he takes on the tough Artur Szpilka in a 12-round bout for Wilder's WBC heavyweight title which will air on Showtime. The heavyweight title fight will be the first in Brooklyn, N.Y. since 1900. While Szpilka may not be the cream of the crop he is a step in the right direction for Wilder and won't be a pushover.
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| 2016 could be a very important year for Wilder |
Wilder is a 6-foot-7 orthodox power puncher who has also shown some boxing skills. Clearly Wilder's best punch is his overhand right that usually ends a fight as soon as it lands clean. He isn't just a one trick pony though, Wilder also has a nice long jab and against Stiverne he showed he can box from the outside when he needs to. Along with those weapons Wilder also has a heavy left hook. Wilder has also shown some cracks in his facade. He gets hit clean too much for a top heavyweight and he has been buzzed by fighters without much power. Luckily for "The Bronze Bomber" his power has made up for any deficiencies he has shown while still learning on the job.
It speaks to how charismatic Wilder is, or how hungry U.S. fans are for a legit heavyweight contender, that he was able to gain popularity while fighting tomato cans. Part of that popularity was because of the ridiculous punching power Wilder displayed. The heavyweight started his career by stringing together 32 straight knockout victories and his career record now stands at 35-0 with 34 knockouts. There has been a lot of criticism thrown Wilder's way. The toughest test he has faced to date was Stiverne and while he won that fight and boxed nicely it was the only fight in which he failed to stop his opponent. Szpilka may not have the dangerous power that Stiverne did but he is a tough fighter with enough experience to give Wilder a tough test.
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| Szpilka has experience against quality fighters |
Szpilka is a quality fighter who is more of a top 15 than top 10 guy in the division. Still, his southpaw stance could give Wilder some problems as could his hand speed. Szpilka certainly doesn't have lightning fast hands but he can get his straight left off quickly and it lands hard. That straight left hand is probably Szpilka's best and heaviest punch because he doesn't make much use of his right hook. Szpilka's jab also isn't extraordinary but it is solid. The problem for Szpilka has always been his chin. In the past he has been dropped by journeymen who weren't exactly heavy hitters and he was stopped by Bryant Jennings.
Where Szpilka has the advantage over Wilder is in experience. Szpilka has fought Jennings and Tomasz Adamek and while he lost to Jennings he came away with the unanimous decision win over Adamek and at one time Adamek was near the top of the heavyweight division. His career record now stands at 20-1 with 15 knockouts and while he isn't the heaviest handed fighter he should have enough power to check the chin of Wilder if he catches him clean.
This fight should be interesting if for nothing more than Szpilka will be Wilder's toughest test since Stiverne. Wilder has options in this fight, Szpilka is only 6-foot-3 so Wilder could stay on the outside and use his jab to control the shorter fighter and wait for his opportunity to unleash his devastating right hand or he can go right at Szpilka and mix it up on the inside because he is the heavier handed fighter. For Szpilka his options are limited. He doesn't have a top tier jab so he needs to get inside on Wilder where he can make it a rough fight and try to catch Wilder who can get wild at times and also retreat straight back on defense with his hands down.
PREDICTION: Artur Szpilka will be able to give Deontay Wilder a tough test but the jab of Wilder will be the difference. Wilder will use his jab to control the pace and distance of the fight and once he feels comfortable he will start to land his power. Szpilka will give it his all but his all won't be enough and Wilder will stop him in the ninth round.
Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov vs. Charles Martin
If Deontay Wilder is the best U.S. heavyweight in the sport the second best just may be Charles Martin. Martin was originally scheduled to fight fringe prospect Dominic Breazeale in December of last year but pulled out of that fight for a chance to face Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov. Martin and Glazkov will square off as the co-feature on Saturday's Showtime card from the Barclays Center. The two fighters are scheduled to go 12 rounds for a vacant IBF heavyweight title.
Glazkov seems destined to be one of those fighters who is always around the top 10 in his division but never reaches the top spot. While Glazkov is a skilled offensive fighter he isn't a massive heavyweight and he doesn't have much pop on his punches. What he does have is a very nice jab and a short left hook. His most powerful punch is probably his straight right hand and he will also mix in a solid overhand right. The problem for Glazkov has been stamina and defense. He likes to keep his lead hand low and he ends up taking a lot of clean punches upstairs. Also, late in fights Glazkov has faded making many bouts closer than they needed to be.
While Martin hasn't faced any top fighters Glazkov has. During his career Glazkov has faced off against notable fighters like Tomasz Adamek, Steve Cunningham, and Derric Rossy and while he won all of those fights all of them were close, especially the Rossy fight. As a pro Glazkov has gone 21-0-1 but he only has 13 knockout wins to his name. When Glazkov does score a knockout it isn't usually of the one punch variety and instead comes from an accumulation of punches.
Martin is a tall southpaw who actually moves fairly well for a heavyweight. At 29-years-old Martin has only been fighting professionally since 2012 and he has looked good in that short amount of time, albeit against mostly sub par competition. What makes Martin dangerous is that he has plus power in both hands. With the left hand he throws a very strong uppercut and he has a looping left hand that is dangerous as is his straight left hand. One thing Martin does well is jab and while it isn't the stiffest punch it does help him set up his power punches. Along with his left hand Martin also has a heavy right hook and he certainly has one punch knockout type power. Also, Martin always makes sure to attack the body which helps take a lot out of his opponents.d Just how good Martin really is though remains to be seen.
When it comes to resumes Martin's isn't very impressive. The most recognizable opponent he has faced is probably Joey Dawejko and that isn't saying much. Martin is still fairly new to boxing and since starting in 2012 at the professional level he has been very active, putting together a ring record of 22-0-1 with a very strong 20 knockouts. However, Glazkov represents a massive step up in competition for Martin so it will be interesting to see how he handles the challenge.
This fight is the power of Martin against the experience of Glazkov. Martin has never faced anyone even close to as good as Glazkov is but Glazkov fades in fights and typically eats a lot of punches and that could spell trouble against the heavy hitting Martin. If Martin is going to win this fight he will probably do it with a knockout while Glazkov will probably win if he can stay on his feet and outwork Martin. This is the type of fight that Martin needs to win to get to that next level and one Glazkov needs to win to stay there.
PREDICTION: Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov's experience against better fighters will come in handy early. Glazkov will look better early in the fight and should be ahead on the cards come the middle rounds. However, Glazkov usually fades late in fights and Martin will start to land power shots, especially to the body, that will take enough out of Glazkov to really hamper him late. It will be a close fight late by Martin will win it by the way of 11th round stoppage.
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| Glazkov is far more experienced than Martin |
While Martin hasn't faced any top fighters Glazkov has. During his career Glazkov has faced off against notable fighters like Tomasz Adamek, Steve Cunningham, and Derric Rossy and while he won all of those fights all of them were close, especially the Rossy fight. As a pro Glazkov has gone 21-0-1 but he only has 13 knockout wins to his name. When Glazkov does score a knockout it isn't usually of the one punch variety and instead comes from an accumulation of punches.
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| This will be a huge shot for Martin |
When it comes to resumes Martin's isn't very impressive. The most recognizable opponent he has faced is probably Joey Dawejko and that isn't saying much. Martin is still fairly new to boxing and since starting in 2012 at the professional level he has been very active, putting together a ring record of 22-0-1 with a very strong 20 knockouts. However, Glazkov represents a massive step up in competition for Martin so it will be interesting to see how he handles the challenge.
This fight is the power of Martin against the experience of Glazkov. Martin has never faced anyone even close to as good as Glazkov is but Glazkov fades in fights and typically eats a lot of punches and that could spell trouble against the heavy hitting Martin. If Martin is going to win this fight he will probably do it with a knockout while Glazkov will probably win if he can stay on his feet and outwork Martin. This is the type of fight that Martin needs to win to get to that next level and one Glazkov needs to win to stay there.
PREDICTION: Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov's experience against better fighters will come in handy early. Glazkov will look better early in the fight and should be ahead on the cards come the middle rounds. However, Glazkov usually fades late in fights and Martin will start to land power shots, especially to the body, that will take enough out of Glazkov to really hamper him late. It will be a close fight late by Martin will win it by the way of 11th round stoppage.
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