Deontay Wilder will fight second division heavyweight Stephan Shaw in his return in April at the BLK Prime PPV in Atlanta, Georgia.
Many fans have never heard of Shaw, a 12-year professional, but he is known to the die-hard boxing public for his bout against Efe Ajagba. Shaw will be a good barometer to measure Deontay’s career progress.
A situation you have to win
Wilder, 39, is in a tough must-win situation in his career after losing two of his fights and four of his last five. There are a lot of questions about whether former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) is washed up. There is an excellent chance that Deontay will lose this fight if he continues to be afraid of throwing punches as we have seen in his four losses since 2020.
This fight will show if Wilder can still be considered a marketable fighter. If he fails to defeat Shaw (20-2, 15 KOs), it would be a sign that he has to retire.
Turn
Most would agree that Wilder’s 7th round knockout loss to Tyson Fury in their second fight of 2020 was a turning point in their careers and that he stopped being the aggressive ‘Bronze Bomber’ that fans once knew.
Since that fight, Deotay has seemed hesitant to pull the trigger on his punches, resulting in a trilogy loss to the lightweight Fury and wins over a puncher-looking 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, able to shoot well and return fire. He went 10 rounds with heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba, losing by narrow decision on January 14, 2022. However, little-known Joseph Goodall knocked Shaw out in the sixth round on July 22, 2023. A loss to that level of opponent showed that Shaw is susceptible to a powerful blow.
Prior to his loss to Ajagba, the 6’4″ Shaw was viewed as a future contender in the division and one of the guys who could potentially challenge for a world title. However, after his defeat by Ajagba, he is no longer spoken of. The knockout loss to Goodall further hurt the diminished view that die-hard boxing fans have of him.
Shaw’s last six fights:
Jason Bergman: TKO 1
Brandon Johnson: TKO 1
Joseph Goodall: TKO 6 loss
Efe Ajagba: loss of 10 UD
Rydell Booker: UD 8
Bernardo Marquez: KO 1
