Three of Deontay Wilder's best knockouts

As we approach the trilogy of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder’s heavyweight bouts, there is a feeling in the air that this fight can dictate the immediate future of boxing. With Anthony Joshua uncharacteristically losing to Oleksandr Usyk, there have been plenty of shocks in recent weeks and while there is seemingly an inevitability around a Fury victory and this third match being purely for Wilder’s pride, it is strange people are overlooking the Bronze Bomber’s ability.

His last fight, spanning all the way back to February 2020 now, ended in defeat and with a poor performance befitting of the seventh round TKO. But in the lead up to this fight, Wilder’s own knockout capability has been severely overlooked in the Wilder v Fury odds from Betfair.

Capable of turning any fight on its head with a frantic but devastating right hook, Wilder can’t be counted out of this one just yet and while the loss to Fury may diminish his reputation somewhat, you only have to look at the frightening number of knockouts on the American’s CV to see he more than walks the walk — with 41 wins via knockout. With that in mind, here are three of Wilder’s best victories in a star-studded career.

Luis Ortiz II (2019)

Another fight that was over a year in the making, Wilder wasted no time getting his hands on Luis Ortiz in their 2019 rematch which resulted in a seventh-round knockout as the Bronze Bomber defended his WBC title. There was little speculation over a Wilder defeat after he beat the Cuban in their first bout via TKO 10 rounds in.

This fight was shorter lived but certainly didn’t lack the dominance and ruthless punching associated with heavyweight boxing, as Wilder controlled proceedings from the earliest moments and finally finished his opponent off with a spectacular knockout, worthy of any title defence. Wilder epitomised essentially his whole boxing career post-match, saying: “my opponent has to be perfect for 12 rounds, and I only have to be perfect for one second" and he proved that phrase right once again.

Siarhei Liakhovich (2013)

So much was expected of Siarhei Liakhovich when he first burst onto the scene in the heavyweight division, but the boxing betting tips were wrong when the Belarusian failed to live up to expectations. His career was already heading on a downward trajectory when a brutal knockout courtesy of Wilder in 2013 all but ended his career prospects.

The fighter seemingly lost control of his body, after a powerful blow from the American in the packed-out Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. Liakhovich‘s drop to the canvas and flailing legs coupled with a lifeless body turned a lot of heads in Wilder’s direction, gradually getting the attention he had warranted for some time. As for the Belarusian, he would go on to lose to Andy Ruiz before taking a three-year sabbatical, losing two more and then retiring at the end of last year.

Bermane Stiverne (2017)

While it may not have been a fight that went down in the history books, the speed and ferocity of this knockout makes it our personal favourite. In years gone by Wilder has started big bouts slow and used his punching power to essentially bail himself out of near desolate looking situations. None of that was on display here, as it simply didn’t have enough time to formulate. The job was done and dusted within 48 seconds. The punching power we have spoken about so far has been hard to articulate without doing it a disservice, but go and watch this knockout and it will perfectly personify what we have tried to describe with the justification it deserves. Sheer ruthlessness. The Haitian- Canadian never stood a chance.

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