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Deontay Wilder’s five most devastating knockouts
Deontay Wilder just might have the greatest one-punch power in the history of boxing.
‘The Bronze Bomber,’ who touts an astonishing 43 of his 44 wins by knockout, will aim to add to that nightmarish total on Saturday night when he clashes with Derek Chisora at London’s O2 Arena, and exclusively live on DAZN PPV.
The former WBC heavyweight world champion has a legendary laundry list of opponents he has put in the spin cycle with his single-shot KOs.
Here, DAZN News looks back at five of his most devastating knockouts.
A horrific ninth-round KO of Artur Szpilka; January 2016
Deontay Wilder’s one-punch power can be downright terrifying at times.
Case in point: Wilder vs. Artur Szpilka with Wilder’s WBC heavyweight title on the line, live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, 10 years ago.
The Polish challenger was doing a decent job of generating a frenetic pace when he erratically changed levels in attempt to pressure and smother Wilder. Well, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ aptly responded by swiveling Szpilka’s jaw with a massive right hand for the instant ninth-round knockout.
Medical personnel rushed into the ring to check on a motionless Szpilka, who was knocked out on his feet. The knockout was that scary.
Folding Bermane Stiverne in half during rematch; November 2017
Wilder defeated Bermane Stiverne by unanimous decision back in January 2015 to win the WBC heavyweight title, before tallying five straight knockouts in setting up their rematch.
Stiverne must have gotten on Wilder’s nerves during the buildup of this fight because the latter came out head-hunting from the opening bell.
With a head full of steam, Wilder used full extension of his 83 inches of reach to split Stiverne’s guard with a quick one-two, putting the former champ on his backside in the first round. When the action resumed seconds later, Wilder rapidly put Stiverne down once again.
When he caught Stiverne with a hellacious overhand right, the Haitian fighter was left slumped backwards, bent at the knee as if he was doing his best Keanu Reeves impression from "The Matrix.” Absolutely devastating.
Demolishing Dominic Breazeale in one round; May 2019
Wilder and Dominic Breazeale got tangled up into a brief stalemate, prompting the referee to break them up.
When the action resumed seconds later, Wilder casually walked up, planted his left foot hard into the canvas and detonated that explosive right hand which crashed onto Breazeale’s jaw for the eye-popping first-round knockout.
Announcer Mauro Ranallo said it best: “Wilder hit Breazeale so hard, they are feeling it in Brazil!”
I was at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, covering this fight and this knockout was truly electric.
Wilder was coming off the scintillating split draw with Tyson Fury from their first battle the December prior, so this was quite the rebound, as ‘The Bronze Bomber’ recorded yet another successful WBC heavyweight title defense.
Rallying to crush Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz in their sequel; November 2019
Having already handed Luis Ortiz his first loss via a 10th-round TKO in March 2018, Wilder would find himself trailing on the scorecards and being outboxed by the Cuban fighter in their November 2019 rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Then, the seventh round came around and Wilder waved the great equalizer. With under 10 seconds left in the frame, Wilder uncorked a straight right hand that ricocheted off the Cuban’s head, crumpling ‘King Kong’ Ortiz in a heap for the raucous knockout.
The winner and still WBC heavyweight world champion, Deontay Wilder.
Putting Robert Helenius to bed; October 2022
Wilder was coming off back-to-back knockout losses to his nemesis Tyson Fury in their rematch and trilogy fights, respectively, and desperately needed to get back in the win column to get his career back on track.
To do that, he would need to defeat veteran Robert Helenius, his longtime sparring partner — a challenge Wilder was more than up for.
When Helenius made the egregious mistake of stalking with his chin up and wide open, Wilder greeted him with a short right hand that instantly slept ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ for a punctuating first-round knockout that was similar to the Szpilka KO in that Helenius lay motionless on the canvas for a tense, scary moment before making it back to his feet.
Just like that, Wilder once again flashed that outrageous one-punch power, which Chisora could fall victim to this weekend.
Watch Chisora vs. Wilder only on DAZN
Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder square off this Saturday, April 4, exclusively on DAZN PPV. Buy as a one-off PPV or get this, Wardley vs. Dubois (May 9), and Usyk vs Verhoeven (May 23) PPVs all included with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription for £22.99 / $44.99 per month.
