Deontay Wilder overlooks Tyson Fury as he names surprise toughest opponent of career
Deontay Wilder has been made to dig deep on more than one occasion during his professional boxing career.
Artur Szpilka and Luis Ortiz were both causing ‘The Bronze Bomber’ all kinds of problems before he plucked out a punch from the Gods, while punishing defeats to Tyson Fury, Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang took significant mileage off his clock.
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Before he locked horns with any of the aforementioned contenders, Wilder’s handlers matched him against rugged veteran Johann Duhaupas in September 2015.
Wilder was making the second defence of his WBC heavyweight title in his home state of Alabama after snatching the green and gold strap from Bermane Stiverne six months prior.
Duhaupas had struggled against no-hope former title challengers Manuel Charr and Francesco Pianeta, and a defeat to fringe contender Erkan Teper did little to persuade fans that he could pull off an upset.
While the fight wasn’t particularly competitive, Duhaupas made Wilder work harder than he had ever done before.
With blood pouring from a cut on the bridge of his crooked nose, Duhaupas forced the heavy-handed American onto his heels as hellacious shots repeatedly bounced off his head.
After 11 punishing rounds, referee Jack Reiss stepped in and waved off the fight against the ropes, much to the dismay of the stubborn Frenchman.
11 years later, and Wilder is still in awe of how Duhaupas walked through his shots undeterred.
“It might surprise you, but my toughest opponent and the one who hit me the hardest is the Frenchman, Johann Duhaupas,” Wilder told talkSPORT.com.
“I remember he was very durable, and he brought the fight to my backyard.
“I remember he hit me with a jab and I thought, ‘Oh s*** I cannot take these punches too many times, or there is going to be an upset in my own hometown.’
“That’s when I started getting myself together, and I eventually stopped him, but he was still on his feet, the tough b******.
“He is the only one who has hit me, and I can still remember the after effects of the punches.
“Tougher than all of them, and that is the God’s honest truth.”
When is Deontay Wilder’s next fight?
Wilder is expected to be dragged back into deep waters by Derek Chisora on April 4.
Both men are making their 50th, and potentially final, professional outings at London’s O2 Arena.
Whoever emerges victorious could land a shot at unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, while the loser will almost certainly be frozen out of the title picture.
