It is very rare that the victim of a “bronze bomber” does not fall to the ground… but it does happen.
On September 26, 2015, Deontay Wilder retained the WBC heavyweight title for the second time with a tough eleventh-round stoppage of nearly bulletproof Frenchman Johann Duhaupas at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The official time was 0:55.
Wilder, who won the vacant title by outpointing Bermane Stiverne (UD 12) and stopping Eric Molina (KO 9) in his opening defense, was comfortable for most of the fight. However, the visitor worked the jab effectively on a few points and crossed his right hand enough to almost close the defending champion’s left eye.
However, the difference in firepower was telling. Duhaupas faced some hellish blows and essentially saved himself. A big one-two put the challenger on the defensive in Round 11 and a strong follow-up assault convinced referee Jack Reiss to save Duhaupas for another day.
“He did everything we expected him to do,” Wilder said during his post-fight interview. “We knew that he was mentally strong. He has an amazing chin. He was very strong. I see why he’s never been stopped before. He did an excellent job and definitely had my respect.”
At the time, Wilder was eyeing an undisputed championship fight with then-unified champion Wladimir Klitschko. British heavyweight star Tyson Fury would ruin those plans just two months after the Wilder-Duhaupas affair, outpointing the legendary Ukrainian in Düsseldorf, Germany.
