Deontay Wilder is 32-0 with every victory coming by way of knockout, but his next fight, a battle against Bermane Stiverne for the WBC heavyweight championship, will be the toughest of his career.
That's why Wilder is sparring Demetrice King in preparation for his January 17 clash with Stiverne; King may not be a household name, but he's the only man to stop Stiverne in his professional career.
"I'm not saying anything like he's better than Bermane Stiverne," Wilder said of King, who is 15-20 in his career. "But Demetrice King is the only guy who knocked him out. So we're learning a lot from him about Stiverne. He's telling us a lot about the way he moves, the way he holds his hands."
The value King brings to the table may not be obvious owing to his unimpressive record, but Wilder said King brought invaluable advice about specifically fighting Stiverne.
"Demetrice told me that when he gets tired, he'll lay on the ropes, and he told me about his head positioning and some of the other stuff that he does," said Wilder. "This has been a great camp, especially with this last group of guys that we've been training with. They were a great group, and I'm ready to get it on."
King's victory may look bad for Stiverne, but the fight was a long time ago--2007 to be exact. It was also a very quick stoppage by referee Johnny Callas. Since then Stiverne has likely improved as a fighter. He has also won 12 of 13 fights during that span, and fought to a draw once vs. Charles Davis in 2009.
Wilder is aiming to become the first American heavyweight titleholder since Shannon Briggs in 2007.
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