Wilder to power past Stiverne en route to Joshua mega fight

Undefeated American eyeing up unification bout

Deontay Wilder takes on Bermane Stiverne on Saturday night in Brooklyn in a mandatory defence of his WBC world heavyweight title.

Despite this fight, Wilder will already be eyeing up a heavyweight super fight with Anthony Joshua in the coming months.

The Briton has cemented his place as the king of the division after a stunning two years.

In Tyson Fury’s absence, Wilder is seen as Joshua’s most dangerous opponent. And the only thing stopping him unifying the heavyweight belts.

The Coral News Team take a look at how Wilder-Stiverne might pan out.

Does Stiverne pose a threat?

In short, yes – Stiverne should not be taken lightly. Wilder has already beaten him back in 2015 in a unanimous decision to become WBC strap-holder.

However, of his 38 previous bouts, Stiverne was the only fighter Wilder couldn’t stop. It’s the one blot on an otherwise perfect record of knockouts.

Stiverne has a relatively decent pedigree, too, beating Chris Arreola twice in 2013 and 2014.

The Haitian-American has only lost twice in a 28-fight career. And one of those included that points defeat to Wilder two years ago.

Fight prediction

At 1/20, Wilder is a massive favourite with Coral. You can get boxing odds of 8/1 on Stiverne causing a major upset.

The only thing stopping Wilder from a comfortable win here is complacency. It’s only natural for the undefeated American to be looking towards Joshua. But he can’t take his eye off the ball too much.

At 6ft 7in Wilder has a five-inch height advantage, and a massive six-inch reach on Stiverne. He’s also seven years younger.

He’s taller, leaner, and rangier, and will be able to keep Stiverne at a distance while picking him off with a clean jab.

Wilder has a piledriver of a right hook, too. Stiverne hasn’t fought in two years so this is a big ask in terms of his gas tank.

Odds of 2/9 on Wilder winning by KO or TKO or Disqualification suggest it’s likely to go that way.

It might take a while to break down Stiverne’s defences so the 4/5 on Wilder to win after 6 Rounds is the bet.

What’s next for Wilder?

A possible fight with Dillian Whyte is being mooted before a tasty looking unification super fight with Joshua.

Offers from Matchroom on behalf of Whyte have already been made. And even a date and venue – the O2 Arena on 3 February – booked in advance.

However, Wilder has said he will only fight Whyte if a guaranteed clash with Joshua is built into the contract.

All logic would suggest Wilder powers through Whyte towards a gigantic super fight with Joshua. Hopefully logic plays out.

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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing