Deontay Wilder may be calling out Wladimir Klitschko prematurely. (Photo : REUTERS)
Will someone get to knockout WBC heavyweight Deontay Wilder even before his dream match with WBO-IBO-IBF-WBA champ Wladmir Klitchko pushes through?
Wilder continues to disappoint after it took him nine rounds to finish off Eric Molina (23-2) in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday for his first defense.
Molina survived three knockdowns before Wilder delivered the decisive blow late in the ninth round as the champ improved his record to 34-0 with 33 Kos.
Wilder said he was surprised by Molina, whom he praised for his heart and for disproving naysayers who said he wouldn't last long. After all, Molina was blitzed in a single round by Chris Arreola in 2012.
But was it a case of Molina disproving his critics or Wilder not living up to expectations.?
The 6'7 Wilder started off with a record of 32-0 with 32 KOs, all coming before the fourth round and with 18 concluding in the first round.
However, he could not finish of Bermane Stiverne in the WBC title fight despite being able to connect with bombs.
Molina is his first KO victim the exceeded four rounds--more than twice in the same fight.
Everyone took notice of the 29-year-old Wilder, who is onown as the Bronze Bomber, after his first round, one-punch KO over ex-champ Siarhei Liakhovich who reacted as if he suffered a seizure as he fell on the canvas.
Observers were then not only mentioning him in the same breath as Mike Tyson but they were eager to see him provide the kind of opposition to the 6-6 Klitchsko (64-3, 53 KOs) where the Ukrainian champ doesn't have substantial height and reach advantage.
Wilder is one of the possible challengers is taller than 39-year-old Klitchsko. Another is the 6-9 Tyson Fury, who has been identified by Klitschko as his next possible opponent.
But before that transpires, ex-WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev feels that Alexander Povetkin (29-1, 21 KOs) is capable of knocking Wilder out in the early rounds.
He noted that Wilder's defense is his soft spot and the WBC No. 1 heavyweight contender Povetkin can take advantage of that to score a KO.
The 6-2 Povetkin knocked out Mike Perez in 91 seconds in a WBC eliminator and is now the mandatory challenger to Wilder. Perez record dropped to 21-2-1.
The lone stain in Povetkin's record came when he challenged Klitschko in October 2013 for the latter's WBO, IBO, IBF and WBA titles and lost by unanimous decision in a near shutout.
