Lennox Lewis has urged caution to those who see Deontay Wilder’s first round win over Dominic Breazeale holding significance over Anthony Joshua.
Wilder blasted out Breazeale in the first round at Barclays Center on May 18. In contrast, Joshua took seven rounds to dispatch ‘Trouble’ in their 2016 meeting.
Those using Wilder’s double-quick victory as a yardstick to a future fight with Joshua should think again, according to the former undisputed champ.
Lennox Lewis
“Boxing isn’t a sport where because one person beat a common opponent of another fighter in less rounds, that it means anything,” explained Lewis.
“There is no science to that line of thinking. As I’ve always said, styles make fights!
“Some styles are all wrong for a fighter and some are all right!”
Meanwhile, Lewis gave an insightful view on the art of punching and combinations in a recent ‘Lennoxism’ post.
Lewis outlined the need for fighters to hold a wide range of punches, without directly mentioning Wilder’s lack in that department.
Wilder has the equalizer in abundance but has never possessed the boxing skills of say a Joshua or a Lewis.
The retired legend said: “The importance of having a diversity of punches in boxing can’t be stated enough. I say it’s critical to a fighter’s arsenal.
“When a fighter mixes up his/her punches effectively, it becomes very hard for an opponent to know where the punches will land.
“If you only go to the head, your opponent only has one place to guard. If you go to the head and body effectively, your opponent has to guess where it will land. And they only have to guess wrong once… as seen here (above).
CHESS MATCH
“In this fight, the previous effective body shots have this fighter trying to protect his body and leaving his head fully unprotected.
“Just when he thinks the body attack is back on, his opponent cracks him up top in devastating fashion. That’s why boxing is a lot like chess.
“You use strategy to outsmart your opponent. And when the opportunity arises, you then checkmate your opponent for the win.”
It’s long been stated Joshua v Wilder is a 50-50 match-up. This is despite the general consensus handing the Briton the better skillset.
As long as Wilder has his one-punch power, he’ll always be a danger to any heavyweight in the world.
