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Deontay Wilder will fight No. 2 heavyweight Stephan Shaw in his return in April at BLK Prime PPV in Atlanta, Georgia.
Many fans have never heard of 12-year pro Shaw, but the hardcore boxing crowd is familiar with his bout against Efe Ajagba. Shaw will be a good barometer to gauge Deontay’s career progress.
Essential situation
Wilder, 39, is in a tough situation to win with his career after losing his 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 Deontay loses this fight if he continues to be afraid to throw punches like 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 is unable to defeat Shaw (20-2, 15 KOs), it would be a sign that he should retire.
Turning point
Most would agree that Wilder’s seventh-round knockout loss to Tyson Fury in his second fight of 2020 was a turning point in his career and where he stopped being the aggressive “Bronze Bomber ” that fans had come to know.
Since that fight, Deotay has been reluctant to pull the trigger on his punches, resulting in him losing the trilogy to the light-hitting Fury by knockout and getting beaten by a Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang with a shot appearance. A younger, fearless version of Wilder could have won all three fights.
The Rise and Fall of Shaw
Shaw is a tough fighter, able to land a good shot 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. Lose to this level of opponent showed that Shaw is susceptible to a strong punch.
Before losing to Ajagba, the 6’4″ Shaw was seen as a future contender in the division and one of the guys who could fight for a world title. However, after his defeat to Ajagba, not much has been said about him since then. The knockout loss to Goodall has further damaged his diminished view of him from boxing fans.
Shaw’s last six fights:
Jason Bergman: TKO 1
Brandon Johnson: TKO 1
Joseph Goodall: TKO 6 loss
Efe Ajagba: Defeat UD 10
Rydell Booker: OUT 8
Bernardo Márquez: I 1
