Via Dan Ambrose: Shawn Porter says Deontay Wilder has a lot to prove to himself and to the world this Saturday night in his fight against Robert ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ Helenius after losing his last two matches by knockout.
Porter felt that Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) had to put in a good performance to beat Helenius (31-3, 20 KOs) for him to advance to the next level against Andy Ruiz Jr before he is available on IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Wilder looks dilapidated today, weighing in at 214.5 lbs compared to Helenius’ 253.25 lbs at the top of the line this Saturday, October 15, on FOX Sports pay-per-view at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
As Porter points out, the casual boxing fan isn’t familiar with Helenius, so they see this as a walk in the park for Deontay. In fact, this is a very, very dangerous fight for Wilder, and it’s closer to a 50-50 situation than the one-sided fight that others believe it to be.
There is a great opportunity for Helenius to knock Wilder out and end his career as a major player in the league. Obviously, it will be a disappointment for fans, but Wilder’s consecutive losses to Tyson Fury show how flawed he is to be among the major players of the tournament.
“I am very happy to see him back. I think people may not know ‘Nordic Nightmare’, Robert Heleniusso they’re looking past this fight and want to see Deontay in something a little more competitive,” Shawn Porter told Fighthype.
“More than anything, Deontay has to fight over himself with some of the things he has been through in the past. I think it’s going to be a really good fight, and again, Deontay has a lot to prove to himself as well as the world.
“No,” Porter said when asked if Wilder could be champion again. “Yes, he can, but no, he won’t. A guy in his position doesn’t need to put in the effort to return to the world championship war.
“He didn’t need three or four games to find his will and get back into the championship war. He needs to have this fight, and I think another thing depends on how this match goes, and then championship night.
“Don’t forget, you’ve got Andy Ruiz out there. A fight between Andy Ruiz and Deontay Wilder; although there’s no real belt on the line, it’s a funny fight. It was a big fight in the heavyweight division for America.
So I think it’s been a great fight for him, and it looks like it could be the next fight for him. Then there’s the actual strap, and that’s what he wants.
“I am really interested and curious about the fight between Deontay Wilder and Oleksandr Usyk simply because of the right hand Deontay has.
“Also, I personally think we’ll see another Deontay on Saturday night, a Deontay that can use both hands, move in, move out, move left, move right. It’s something we haven’t seen Deontay put together before.
“In a lot of ways, I think he’s going to be fresh. That’s the kind of Deontay Wilder it would take to beat someone like Oleksandr Usyk, who had very high speed. No, we haven’t seen great strength from him yet. Sure, he’s not a heavyweight yet, but that makes for a really good fight. Someone who can run Oleksandr Usyk
“Someone like Deontay, of course; we need to see him tomorrow night, but if he can put one and two together, maybe a sharp hook, I think Deontay is going to be super, super sharp right now, and I’m happy to see that,” Porter said.
