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Blog: Wilder emerges as first American heavyweight champion in nine years

Bermane Stiverne loses WBC belt in a blowout loss to Alabama native

Stiverne Versus Wilder: MGM Fight Night

L.E. Baskow

Deontay Wilder, left, connects on Bermane Stiverne during their WBC Heavyweight fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, January 17, 2015.

Updated Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 | 10:40 p.m.

Stiverne vs. Wilder: MGM Fight Night

Deontay Wilder chats with fans as he celebrates the win over Bermane Stiverne following their WBC Heavyweight fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, January 17, 2015. Launch slideshow »

The last 17 American boxers to fight for a major heavyweight title had failed.

Deontay Wilder halted the ignominious streak Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The 29-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Ala., stayed perfect with his 33rd straight victory to swipe the WBC championship belt from Bermane Stiverne in dominant fashion.

Wilder out-boxed Stiverne for the duration of the bout, resulting in a unanimous-decision win (120-107, 119-108, 118-109) to crown the first American since Shannon Briggs held the WBO title in 2006.

“I’m so excited to bring the belt back to America officially,” Wilder said immediately afterwards while still in the ring. "It’s going to mean a lot to a lot of people.”

Many in boxing hope it also means a lot to the sport. The heavyweight division hasn’t been prominent for more than a decade stateside.

In Wilder, there’s a personality that could change that. The boxing ability he showcased Saturday night, outlanding the champion Stiverne 227-110, is supplemented by an outspoken charisma.

“He didn’t hurt me at all,” Wilder said of Stiverne. “My daughter hits harder.”

Of the questions surrounding Wilder, none were larger than rather he could take a punch. Stories of the “Bronze Bomber” — he got the nickname after coming in third in the 2008 Olympics — getting rocked early in his career against low-level opposition spread.

But nothing Stiverne did affected him. Wilder was the one who put Stiverne in trouble multiple times. He appeared to score a knock down at the end of the second round, though it wasn’t scored officially as one with a punch ruled to have come after the bell.

“I want myself tonight,” Stiverne said. “I couldn’t cut the ring off like I normally do.”

Wilder used his reach advantage masterfully, keeping Stiverne at bay by landing 120 jabs. Stirvene only managed 38 jabs with most of his success coming through lunging body shots that Wilder shook off.

“Who can’t box,” Wilder howled in the direction of the media after the victory.

Find live coverage of Deontay Wilder’s unanimous-decision win over Bermane Stiverne below and check back to lasvegassun.com later for more.

Stiverne vs. Wilder: MGM Weigh-Ins

Heavyweight fighter Bermane Stiverne gets face-to-face with his opponent Deontay Wilder during fighter weigh ins within the MGM Grand Arena on Thursday, January 15, 2015. Launch slideshow »

Bermane Stiverne and Deontay Wilder share one goal in common, and that one goal is the only thing they share in common: They want to restore boxing’s heavyweight division to its former glory with a long championship reign.

Almost everything else about them is different. The 36-year-old Stiverne is soft-spoken. The 29-year-old Wilder is brash. At 6-foot-2 and 239 pounds, Stiverne is bulky. At 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds, Wilder is lanky.

Stiverne has outmuscled recent opponents, with two of his past four fights going to a decision, to become the WBC champion. Wilder has never seen a fight go beyond the fourth round, knocking out every opponent, to become Stiverne’s mandatory challenger.

Some fighters seem destined to emerge as rivals. That feels like the case with Stiverne (24-1-1) and Wilder (32-0) going into tonight’s title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the first time Las Vegas has hosted a heavyweight championship bout in nine years.

The bell will ring to start their showdown in less than two hours with the action airing live on Showtime. Two fights are scheduled in direct support.

Perhaps the card’s biggest star appears in the co-main event. Super bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (28-0-1) gets a tune-up against Jesus Ruiz (32-5) before a rumored long-awaited assignment against Abner Mares later in the year.

It’s the third straight time Santa Cruz will defend his title at the MGM after he beat Cristian Mijares and Manuel Roman, respectively, last year in co-headliners of events with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

The first fight on the main card features rising super lightweight prospects. The 24-year-old Amir Imam, fighting out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., looks to keep his undefeated record intact against 23-year-old Fidel Maldonado Jr. from Albuquerque, N.M.

Boxing promoters notoriously bluster about the competitiveness of every fight they stage. This is one of the rare times where the likes of Don King, Stiverne’s promoter, are 100 percent genuine.

The betting line on Stiverne vs. Wilder is a near pick ’em with the challenger a minor minus-140 (risking $1.40 to win $1) favorite to take the belt from the champion before he ever defends it. Wilder boasts all the tools for stardom, but the knock is that he’s never beaten anyone of note.

Tonight’s bout with Stiverne will change that.

Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for live ringside round-by-round coverage of Stiverne vs. Wilder, to go with periodic updates and results of the other two bouts.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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