Deontay Wilder vs Dominic Breazeale Preview & Prediction
AT A GLANCE
When is Deontay Wilder vs Dominic Breazeale? Sunday 19th May, 2019 - 03:00 (UK)
Where is Deontay Wilder vs Dominic Breazeale? Barclays Center, New York City
What channel is Deontay Wilder vs Dominic Breazeale on? Sky Sports (channel TBC)
Where can I stream Deontay Wilder vs Dominic Breazeale? Showtime subscribers who have paid to watch the fight can stream it live on the Showtime website and/or app
https://www.sho.com/sports/fights/2781/wilder-vs-breazeale
Are tickets still available for Deontay Wilder vs Dominic Breazeale?
https://www1.ticketmaster.com/premier-boxing-champions-deontay-wilder-v-brooklyn-new-york-05-18-2019/event/00005673800512E7
THE LOWDOWN
Boxing fans have not quite got what they wanted as all the top heavyweight contenders have separate dance partners, but over the next couple months the title landscape will change to map out their fate, and it all starts with Deontay Wilder vs Dominic Breazeale.
Everyone and their dog wants to see Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury all square-off at some some point but Joshua meets Jarrell Miller on 1st June and, instead of a rematch after Fury and Wilder’s epic fight that ended in a controversial draw, Fury meets Tom Schwarz on 15th June and Wilder takes on Breazeale.
It is the unfortunate theme of Boxing that money and the greed of the fight teams and promoters takes precedence over the fans but nonetheless we have a great fight between Wilder and Breazeale as they look to settle their beef at the Barclays Center.
They match up very evenly. They are both knockout artists at the same age with huge frames and only one loss between them, suffered by Breazeale when he met Joshua back in 2016. Their main differences are Wilder’s experience, with double the wins, and Breazeale’s sizeable weight advantage. Wilder is a natural cruiserweight who is weighing in lighter and lighter for his fights, but this does not take away any of his ferocious knockout power.
Breazeale became the mandatory challenger for Wilder’s WBC title by stringing three impressive wins together after his first career loss to Joshua, finishing Izu Ugonoh, Eric Molina and Carlos Negron in his last outing.
Wilder stretched his unbeaten record in his last fight but only just. Fury was cruising to a decision before Wilder uncorked a trademark bomb to floor Fury in the last round but ‘The Gypsy King’ miraculously got back to his feet and had arguably already earned enough points on the scorecard to seal the win. However, the fight ended in a draw.
Although that fight ended controversially, Wilder proved he can hang in there with the very best and his knockout power is a problem for any fighter he steps in the ring with. He is the WBC champion and has double the wins of Breazeale, but how do the calibre of their opponents compare?
As you can see, Wilder and Breazeale’s last 15 opponents have had impressive and similar records with an average win percentage of 86% and 83% respectively. The most notable difference is the experience of Wilder’s opponents compared to Breazeale’s. Wilder's have had considerably more fights, with his last 15 opponents earning a total of 131 more wins than Breazeale’s.
Wilder will be the heavy favourite in this fight but they match up similarly on paper and considering they both have a knockout rate of 90% and over, anything can happen. Let’s take a look at their average fight time to get an idea of how long this fight will last:
It is no surprise to see that they both make short work of their opponents. They have a contrasting style but both boast phenomenal power in their hands and waste little time in finishing their opponents. Wilder is explosive and unorthodox whereas Breazeale is a slower, more compact fighter, so how will this bout play out?
THE PREDICTION
This is going to be an intense encounter as these men do not like each other. After an altercation in a hotel lobby, the two clashed with distasteful threats that has lit a fire under Breazeale and he not only wants that belt but to put a beating on Wilder.
Breazeale is going to force the pressure on Wilder and pop the jab to break his rhythm. He will look to put his weight advantage to good use and close the difference but he will have to eat a few shots to do so which will be the crucial factor in this fight.
Breazeale gets hit and often. He took a lot of damage in his last three fights and to have any chance against Wilder, your defence needs to be on point. Fury has some of the best defence in the game but even he got caught and was seconds away from losing.
That said, there is a lot of pressure on Wilder. He has little to gain and everything to lose. He turned down a multi-million dollar contract with DAZN which has postponed his rematch with Fury and prolonged a potential fight with Joshua, so if he loses to Breazeale his stock will plummet and leave the door open for Fury or Oleksandr Usyk to fight Joshua (presuming they all win their upcoming fights).
Wilder claims he wants to go back to basics with more jabs, more composure and more body shots but this is just not in his nature. That right hand will be telegraphed and he will hunt the chin of Breazeale. Breazeale is very durable but his poor defence is likely to set up a knockout finish.
Wilder may feel pressured to outperform Joshua’s feat in knocking out Breazeale in the seventh round and, although Breazeale can absorb a lot, don’t expect him to make it out the eighth round.
Prediction: Deontay Wilder via KO/TKO
