“Wilder himself also appeared to regress, as he had stretches of trouble against Eric Molina, Johann Duhaupas and Szpilka. But perhaps regression is a misdiagnosis. Easily the best fighter Wilder has faced, and the only one to extend him the distance, Stiverne turned in a strangely lethargic effort against Wilder and was both hospitalized with dehydration after the fight and diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis. Perhaps Wilder, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is not regressing at all, but since beating a sickly Stiverne, simply turning in performances that betray his flaws against opponents selected to mask them. The natural assumption that Wilder would improve, or had improved, or that he was particularly good to begin with because he beat Stiverne might have been wrong.”
Read A Strange Appeal: Deontay Wilder KO9 Artur Szpilka on The Cruelest Sport.
In Between Rounds 