Deontay Wilder will fight second-ranked heavyweight Stephan Shaw in his return in April on BLK Prime PPV in Atlanta, Georgia.
Many fans have never heard of the 12-year-old professional Shaw, but he is known to the hardcore boxing public for his fight against Efe Ajagba. Shaw will be a good barometer to gauge the progress of Deontay’s career.
Things have gone pretty bad for the 39-year-old Deontay, now reduced to fighting on the major networks against non-contender Shaw. The Bronze Fireman should have had a clue and fhe blew his coach, Malik Scott, after his loss to Tyson Fury in his trilogy in 2021.
The changes that Malik tried to make with Deontay, trying to turn him into a boxer, failed. Now he’s stuck fighting a lower level fighter, which he might lose, and that will be it. Career over. It is never a good idea to have a trainer who is your friend.
Must-Win Situation
Wilder, 39, is in dire must-win situation with his career after losing both of his fights and four of his last five. There are many questions about whether former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) is washed up. There is an excellent chance that Deontay loses this fight if he continues to be afraid to throw punches as we have seen in his four losses since 2020.
This fight will show if Wilder can still be seen as a commercial fighter. If he is unable to defeat Shaw (20-2, 15 KO), it would be a sign that he needs to retire.
Turning Point
Most agree that Wilder’s 7th round KO loss to Tyson Fury in his second fight in 2020 was a turning point in his career and where he stopped being the aggressive “Bronze Bomber” that fans once knew.
Since that fight, Deotay has seemed reluctant to pull the trigger on his punches, which resulted in him losing the trilogy to light punch Fury by knockout and being beaten by Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. A more fearless, younger version of Wilder could have won all three fights.
The Rise and Fall of Shaw
Shaw is a tough fighter, capable of taking a good hit and returning fire. He went 10 rounds with heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba, losing a close decision on January 14, 2022. However, little-known Joseph Goodall knocked Shaw out in the sixth round on July 22, 2023. He lost at that level of the opponent showed that Shaw is susceptible to a hard punch.
Before losing to Ajagba, the 6’4″ Shaw was seen as a future contender in the division and as one of the guys who could fight for a world title. However, after his loss to Ajagba, he hasn’t been talked about much since. The crushing defeat against Goodall also undermined his diminished view of him among hardcore boxing fans.
Shaw’s last six fights:
Jason Bergman: TKO 1
Brandon Johnson: TKO 1
Joseph Goodall: TKO 6 loss
Efe Ajagba: UD 10 loss
Rydell Booker: OUT 8
Bernardo Marquez: I 1
