HOW DOES THE POWER OF DEONTAY WILDER COMPARE WITH THE POWER OF FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS?
Wayne Alexander
Former EBU champion
I would compare his power to a peak Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Sonny Liston and Rocky Marciano. He can put a fighter to sleep with just one punch and with either hand and not many past champions could do that. Wilder’s record speaks for itself.
Wayne Alexander
This is still a good matchup for fight fans but, after watching Andy Ruiz’s poor and disappointing performance in his last fight against Anthony Joshua, I would have to pick Dillian Whyte to outwork Ruiz and win a points decision. I would have favoured Ruiz to beat Whyte before he had the rematch with Joshua.
Nigel Wright
Former English champion
I think Wilder is probably one of the biggest onepunch hitters in history. His record speaks for itself. People say Tyson was the biggest puncher because of his KO ratio but Tyson would take people out with combinations and speed whereas Wilder does it with one punch.
Nigel Wright
I think Whyte beats Ruiz, probably on points. Whyte, I feel, has improved a lot since his loss to AJ and has a lot to prove after the UK Anti-doping scandal. Ruiz is tough but has lost focus. It would be a good fight, but Whyte wins it for me.
Alan Hubbard
Esteemed sports writer
We’ve had Ingo’s Bingo, ‘Enry’s ‘Ammer and Marciano’s Susie Q but Wilder is arguably the most venomous single puncher in heavyweight history. Though other hard-hitting big men, including Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Sonny Louis and Jack Dempsey, come close.
Alan Hubbard
All depends on whether Ruiz Jnr, who can box and bang when the mood takes him, can be bothered to get into sufficient shape to cause another upset. If not, it will be all Whyte on the night, and he will win by early KO.
Dave Allen
Heavyweight contender
It’s very hard to say because even though he isn’t a huge heavyweight in today’s era, in terms of his weight, he’s still bigger than the heavyweights pre-1980s. You can’t question his knockout ratio and how he actually scores the KO instead of a TKO, though.
Dave Allen
It all depends on what kind of shape Andy Ruiz Jnr turns up in. If both men agree to the fight and turn up in shape, we have a possible heavyweight classic on our hands.
HOW WOULD A HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT BETWEEN DILLIAN WHYTE AND ANDY RUIZ JNR PLAY OUT?