Deontay Wilder‘s legendary power seemed to vanish against Derek Chisora. Is it timing, age, or the two shoulder surgeries that have turned the knockout king into a shadow?
A strange one. It is usually the last thing to go in a fighter in the heavies also.
George Foreman became the oldest champion the heavies at 45 and still had that punch over Michael Moorer on the night.
Deontay looks done at the highest level at this point after the close points victory over Chisora earlier this year, some things to note on this;
- Barry McGuigan said Wilder has “lost his timing” and is “a shot fighter”
- Underwent two shoulder surgeries — right arm no longer fully extends without discomfort
- Body instinctively protects the joint — clubs and loops instead of snapping straight rights
- His “laser straight” right hand — the weapon of his career — is fundamentally compromised
- Against Chisora, timing was “terrible” and “just could not hit Derek”
- Hesitating to throw the right hand at all — a massive red flag
- Loading up more to compensate, making him predictable
- McGuigan noted “the last thing you lose is your punch” — but timing depends on physical capability
- Against elite heavyweights, lost explosive power means decision losses instead of KOs
- He’s become a veteran relying on grit — but someone will eventually “sit on the slow stuff”
Overall, that one thing that Deontay had in his career, that big punch, just had disappeared for some reason.
He cannot rely on it anymore as it landed on Chisora.
Some other things on Deontay on this to be mindful of;
- Two shoulder surgeries compromised his right arm — labrum and rotator cuff no longer allow full, pain-free extension
- Unstable shoulder joint breaks the kinetic chain — power transfers from legs through fist, but joint can’t handle maximum torque
- Body instinctively protects the injured joint — clubs and loops punches instead of snapping them straight
- Hesitates to throw the right hand — no longer trusts the hardware under full power
- Even 10% drop in hand speed from stiffness makes him miss — opponents have extra milliseconds to slip
- Loading up more to compensate — makes him predictable, telegraphing his shots
- Effective range has shrunk — pulling punches short to protect shoulder, missing shots he used to land
- Landed big rights on Chisora but couldn’t hurt him — old Wilder ends that fight in two rounds
- Carl Froch said his “natural power is gone” — at heavyweight, if you can’t punch, you’re done
- A sniper whose scope is cracked and barrel is warped — can club journeymen but elite fighters exploit the lost explosiveness
They are talking about putting him in against Usyk but if that happens yet is unclear.
Usyk has much more ability in boxing even at this stage, even as Usyk is in decline also as a fighter after that Rico fight recently.
Someone like Andy Ruiz even too much for Deontay at this point also.
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