DEONTAY WILDER is a one-trick pony any half decent trainer would know how to flog.
Tyson Fury hopes to beat the WBC heavyweight king on Saturday night to settle the score after their controversial December 2018 draw.
Tim Witherspoon has called Deontay Wilder ‘limited’
And former two-time king Tim Witherspoon has told Fury and his new training team of SugarHill Steward and Andy Lee that as long as Wilder’s right hand is avoided, the title is theirs.
The 62-year-old icon, who faced stars like Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno, told SunSport: “Deontay Wilder has the height, he’s got the reach, he has a powerful punch, but I think he’s limited.
“He’s getting away with a lot of things because a lot of his opponents are really not capable of beating him.
“Not taking anything away from him, if he was in our era back then I don’t think he would do that good as he’s doing today.
“If you take away Deontay Wilder’s right hand the fight is, I think, almost won because he’s always counting on his right hand to get the job done.
“There are no trainers out there who recognise that all you have to do is block his right hand, and the fight is 90 per cent over. There are not many good trainers out there. How can you not notice that?
“You don’t have to worry about his left hook or block his right hand. That’s what I did with Larry Holmes, I blocked his jab because he was known for it.
“What’s wrong with these trainers? They just can’t figure certain things out.”
Witherspoon feels all three current elite heavyweights – including Anthony Joshua – are lacking in certain departments.
The American has even offered to help AJ improve on the shaky defence that briefly cost him his titles against Andy Ruiz Jr in June.
But he was snubbed in his efforts to offer guidance to the British 2012 Olympic icon and he fears he will never reach his full potential without a change in training.
He said: “All these guys need a little bit more added onto their armour because they’re limited – all of them.
“Even though Wilder usually gets the job done with his right hand, if he gets into the ring with someone who has equal power in his right hand, then he’s going to get knocked out.
“You need a bit more than just the strong right hand. All these need something more to be the ultimate champion. It would make their job easier if they had more technical skills.
“Joshua – who I was trying to get in to help him behind the scenes – if he learns defence how to slip and how to block he can be at another level.
“But you get all these big fights on TV and when the bell rings when I see him and I get disappointed.
“The promotion is big and then you watch the actual fight, and people who don’t know much about boxing but are casual fans, they think it’s beautiful.
“But when a former heavyweight champ like me looks at it, we get disappointed. As soon as the bell rings I don’t feel excited.
“Joshua needs to have people around him. He needs someone. I was trying to work with him. I know that financially he’s stable, but what about the other side of his life – the legacy and boxing side.
“I was trying to push for getting to work with him, but it seems like his people don’t understand.
“I don’t want the credit. He’s the one going to go out there to fight. I know I can do that and help him in many ways in his boxing.
“There’s a lot of criticism. He needs a little help and you have to add a plan in there.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
