Deontay Wilder will face second-division heavyweight Stefan Shaw in his April return at the BLK Prime PPV in Atlanta, Georgia.
Many fans have never heard of the 12-year-old professional, but he is best known to the hardcore boxing crowd for his bout against Efe Ajagba. Shaw will be a good barometer to measure Deontay's career progress.
Things have gotten very bad for 39-year-old Deontay, who has now turned to a major networks fight against an uncontested Shaw. The bronze bomber was supposed to get a clue and andHe made his coach angry Malik Scott, After losing to Tyson Fury in the trilogy in 2021.
The changes Malik tried to make with Deontay, trying to turn him into a boxer, failed. Now he's stuck fighting a lower level fighter, who might lose, and that's about it. The career is over. It's never a good idea to have a coach who is your friend.
A must-win situation
Wilder (39 years old) faces a very difficult situation in his career after losing two matches and four of his last five matches. There are a lot of questions about whether former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) has been washed up. There is a strong possibility that Deontay will lose 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 whether Wilder can still be viewed as a marketable fighter. If he can't defeat Shaw (20-2, 15 KOs), it will be a sign that he needs to retire.
turning point
Most people would agree that Wilder's seventh-round knockout loss to Tyson Fury in their second fight in 2020 marked a turning point in their careers as he stopped being the aggressive “Bronze Bomber” fans once knew him to be.
Since that fight, Deotay has seemed reluctant to pull the trigger with his punches, which led to him losing the trilogy to the lightweight Fury by knockout and getting beaten by Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. A grittier, younger version of Wilder would have won all three fights.
The rise and fall of Shaw
Shaw is a strong fighter who is able to shoot well and return fire. He fought 10 rounds with heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba, narrowly losing a decision on January 14, 2022. However, little-known Joseph Goodall knocked out Show in the sixth round on July 22, 2023. A loss to this level of opponent showed that Show is vulnerable to a powerful punch .
Before the loss to Ajagba, the 6'4″ Shaw was viewed as a future contender in the division and as one of the players who could fight for a world title. However, after his loss to Ajagba, he has not been talked about much since. The knockout defeat to Goodall further impacted his diminished view of hardcore boxing fans.
Shaw's last six fights:
Jason Bergman: TKO 1
Brandon Johnson: TKO 1
Joseph Goodall: Loss by TKO 6
Efe Ajagba: UD 10 loss
Riddle Poker: Out 8
Bernardo Márquez: I 1
