Deontay Wilder will take on second division heavyweight Stephen Shaw in his return in April at the BLK Prime PPV in Atlanta, Georgia.
Many fans have never heard of 12-year pro Shaw, 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.
Things got pretty bad for the 39-year-old Deontay, now reduced to a major-network fight against non-contender Shaw. The bronze bomber was supposed to get a clue and fannoyed his coach, Malik Scott, following his loss to Tyson Fury in their 2021 trilogy.
The changes Malik tried to make with Deontay, trying to turn him into a boxer, didn’t work. Now he’s stuck fighting a lower level fighter, who he might lose, and that will be that. Career is over. It’s never a good idea to have a coach who is your friend.
A must-win situation
Wilder, 39, is in a tough spot when it comes to career wins after losing two fights and four of his last five. There are many questions about whether former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) is washed up. There’s an excellent chance that Deontay loses this fight if he continues to be afraid to strike, as we’ve seen in his four losses since 2020.
This fight will show if Wilder can still be seen as a marketable fighter. If he can’t beat Shaw (20-2, 15 KOs), that would be a sign that he needs to retire.
Turning Point
Most would agree that Wilder’s 7th round knockout loss to Tyson Fury in their second fight of 2020 was the turning point in their career and where he stopped being the aggressive ‘Bronze Bomber’ that fans once knew.
Since that fight, Deotai has seemed reluctant to pull the trigger on his punches, leading to a trilogy loss to the lightweight Fury by knockout and being beaten by Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang who looked on fire. 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 rival Efe Ajagba, losing by narrow decision on January 14, 2022. However, little-known Joseph Goodall knocked out Shaw in the sixth round on July 22, 2023. A loss to that level of opponent showed that Shaw is susceptible to strong hit.
Prior to his loss to Ajagba, the 6’4″ Shaw was seen as a future contender in the division and one of the guys who could potentially challenge for a world title. However, after his defeat against Ajagba, he has not been talked about much since then. The knockout loss to Goodall further hurt his diminished view of him among die-hard boxing fans.
Shaw’s last six fights:
Jason Bergman: TKO 1
Brandon Johnson: TKO 1
Joseph Goodall: TKO 6 loss
Efe Ajagba: UD 10 defeat
Rydell Booker: EXIT 8
Bernardo Marquez: And 1
