This is Rummy's Corner.
Deontay Wilder first won the WBC heavyweight world championship on January 17th, 2015 when
he scored a lopsided unanimous decision victory against Bermane Stiverne.
In his 1st title defense on June 13th, 2015, Wilder defeated Eric Molina by 9th round knockout.
In his 2nd title defense on September 26th, 2015, Wilder defeated Johann Duhaupas by 11th
round stoppage.
In his 3rd title defense on January 16th, 2016, Wilder defeated Artur Szpilka by 9th
round knockout.
In his 4th title defense on July 16th, 2016, Wilder defeated Chris Arreola by 8th round
stoppage.
In his 5th title defense on February 25th, 2017, Wilder scored a 5th round stoppage against
Gerald Washington.
In his 6th title defense on November 4th, 2017, Wilder scored a devastating 1st round
knockout in his rematch with Stiverne.
In his 7th title defense on March 3rd, 2018, Wilder stopped undefeated challenger Luis
Ortiz by 10th round stoppage.
In his 8th title defense on December 1st, 2018, Wilder retained his title in a 12 round
draw against lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
In his 9th title defense on May 18th of this year, Wilder scored a 1st round knockout against
Dominic Breazeale.
And in his 10th and most recent title defense this past Saturday night, November 23rd, 2019,
in a bout that was televised on Fox PPV, Wilder scored a brutal 7th round knockout in his
rematch against Luis Ortiz.
Wilder has become just the 6th boxer during the long rich history of heavyweight boxing
to make 10 consecutive heavyweight title defenses.
The others include Muhammad Ali, who had 10 consecutive defenses during his 2nd reign
as heavyweight champion; Tommy Burns, who had 11 consecutive title defenses; Wladimir
Klitschko, who had 18 consecutive title defenses; Larry Holmes, who had 20 consecutive defenses;
and the great Joe Louis who had 25 consecutive defenses.
Technically speaking, you can make the case that Holmes had 19 instead of 20, and that
Louis had 26 instead of 25 - but 20 for Holmes and 25 for Louis were the generally accepted
numbers I remember being most frequently cited.
Regardless, Wilder now finds himself in a very exclusive group that carries profound
historical significance.
With 10 consecutive title defenses, Wilder has also just surpassed the likes of Vitali
Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Iron Mike Tyson, Smokin' Joe Frazier, and Muhammad Ali from
his 1st reign.
A lot of Wilder's harshest critics and detractors are trying to downplay the historical significance
of Wilder's 10 consecutive title defenses.
And the main argument being used to downplay Wilder's achievement is based on the fact
that we have more belts today than we did previously.
Originally there was just one heavyweight champion.
Then situations arose where we could have two different heavyweight champions.
In the early 1980s, we could have up to three different heavyweight champions.
That started when Larry Holmes vacated the WBC in favor of the newly formed IBF.
Following that, we had the situation where you could hypothetically have four heavyweight
champions - and this came into play when Michael Spinks reigned as the lineal heavyweight champion,
while technically not holding any major alphabet titles.
And finally, when the WBO universally gained recognition as a 4th major alphabet belt,
you could theoretically have up to five different heavyweight champions.
That hasn't ever actually happened, but it's theoretically possible.
Circling back to Wilder's loudest critics - that the achievement isn't historically
significant because Wilder only holds one alphabet title - this argument still falls
short when you consider the fact we could have at least three different heavyweight
champions dating back to the early 1980s - more than 35 years ago!
So any way you view things, what Wilder accomplished is still historically unique.
Since the early 80s, only two guys have more successful title defenses than Wilder - Larry
Holmes and Wladimir Klitschko.
If we do a quick comparison of Wilder's 10 consecutive defenses with the other heavyweight
champions who have had 9 or more - the one common theme you will find is that most of
the others had valid claims to the lineage.
So the fact that what Wilder accomplished is historically significant is strongly tied-in
with the idea that the heavyweight lineage still commands great historical significance.
Vitali Klitschko had 9 consecutive defenses of the very same WBC championship that Wilder
now owns.
Vitali never unified, and he understandably never faced the best champion at this time,
that being his younger brother Wladimir.
So by any objective measure, Wilder's 10 WBC title defenses is greater than Vitali's 9
WBC title defenses.
Lennox Lewis had 9 consecutive title defenses that started with the very same WBC belt.
Eventually Lewis earned a valid claim to the lineage when he stopped Shannon Briggs, and
Lewis would ultimately unify the WBA/IBF belts when he defeated Evander Holyfield.
So by the end of this 9 defense reign, Lewis had unified all 3 major belts from his day
as well as securing a valid claim to the lineage.
Mike Tyson had 9 consecutive title defenses, and once again, this started with the WBC.
Tyson unified the WBA, and ultimately the IBF, and he ultimately earned a valid claim
to the lineage when he defeated Michael Spinks.
So like Lennox, by the end of Tyson's 9 defense reign, Iron Mike had unified all 3 major belts
from his day and also established a valid claim to the lineage.
Smokin' Joe Frazier had 9 consecutive title defenses, and his reign started as the NYSAC
champion.
This all happened towards the end of a transitional period where the two major belts, that were
previously the NBA and the NYSAC - those were essentially absorbed and replaced by the WBA
and WBC titles as we know them today.
Frazier ultimately unified the WBA/WBC versions by the end of this transition, and Frazier
also secured a valid claim to the lineage when he defeated Muhammad Ali in the Fight
of the Century.
So Frazier's situation is similar to what we have with Tyson and Lennox in terms of
9 title defenses, in the sense that by the end of the 9 defenses, Frazier held both major
titles of that time, and also had a valid claim to the lineage.
Muhammad Ali had 9 consecutive title defenses, and they were all undisputed defenses.
There was no unification necessary, so of those with 9 consecutive title defenses, Ali's
first reign is the gold standard, Vitali's reign is at the bottom, and the reigns of
Tyson, Lewis, and Frazier - they all fall in between on basically equal footing.
The important thing to take from this, is that with the exception of Muhammad Ali, the
championship reigns of Tyson, Lennox, and Frazier all started with a single major world
championship - and by the end of these 9-defense reigns, those 3 were undisputed with valid
claims to the lineage.
Right now Wilder's 10 consecutive defenses technically tie him with the 2nd reign of
Muhammad Ali.
But Ali was undisputed with a valid claim to the lineage throughout that reign.
So objectively speaking, Ali's reign definitely carries more weight here.
The same can be said of Tommy Burns.
All 11 of his consecutive title defenses happened when there was only one champion.
So in the event Wilder gets to 11 consecutive title defenses, Tommy Burns objectively has
a better claim.
It's also worth noting you can make the case that Burns had 13 defenses, but 2 of those
victories from the same night are generally accepted as exhibition bouts despite newspaper
billings.
Wladimir Klitschko had 18 consecutive defenses, and this reign began when Wladimir stopped
Chris Byrd for the IBF belt.
Klitschko would ultimately unify the WBO, and later the WBA, and he also secured a valid
claim to the lineage.
Wladimir never became undisputed during this reign, but he did unify all but 1 major world
title of his day.
Larry Holmes had 20 consecutive title defenses.
The Easton Assassin started as the WBC champion, and he ultimately earned his claim to the
lineage beyond reproach when he defeated Muhammad Ali. Holmes ultimately vacated the WBC when
he was crowned champion by the newly formed IBF.
So technically speaking, Holmes never unified any of the major titles of his day, but he
did earn a legitimate claim to the lineage during that span.
And of course Joe Louis is the gold standard here.
Louis had 25 consecutive title defenses back in the good old days when there was only one
heavyweight world champion, exactly as it should be.
Why am I going through all of this?
Because I believe this bit of history does two important things: (1) It highlights the
importance of the lineal champion in the context of heavyweight history, and (2) It also helps
illustrate the magnitude of what Deontay Wilder just accomplished.
In other words, for those critics who try and outright dismiss the historical significance
of what it means for Deontay Wilder to make 10 consecutive title defenses - if this was
so easy, and so insignificant, then how come only two other heavyweight champions have
ever accomplished this unique feat in the age of multiple splintered heavyweight world
champions?
Again, the only other two guys who have done it are Larry Holmes and Wladimir Klitschko.
Deontay Wilder is now just the third heavyweight champion since the early 1980s to make 10
or more consecutive title defenses.
The one thing that truly separates what Wilder has accomplished so far in comparison to both
Wladimir and Holmes, aside from the raw number of consecutive title defenses, is the fact
that Larry and Wlad both had valid claims to the lineage.
Like Wilder, both Holmes and Wladimir started their reigns with just one major world title
before earning lineal recognition.
This is why the lineal heavyweight championship is still historically significant.
Fury detractors always try downplaying his status as lineal heavyweight champion, but
in the day and age where we have splintered alphabet soup, the lineage is the only way
we can truly trace a path back to the days when there was just one heavyweight world
champion.
And in the heavyweight division, this is especially important because it's boxing's marquee division
and heavyweights are less apt to switch divisions, where things are much easier to trace.
This is the main reason it is so important that Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury have a
rematch to settle their unfinished business.
For Deontay Wilder, if he can defeat Tyson Fury, he will have a valid claim to the lineage
which will inherently amplify the magnitude of his historic feat of 10 or more consecutive
title defenses.
That alone will put him on solid grounding with both Larry Holmes and Wladimir Klitschko.
At the end of the day, 10 consecutive defenses is historically significant any way you choose
to dissect it.
Aside from Wilder, the fact that only Larry Holmes and Wladimir Klitschko have done this
in modern times - meaning since the early 80s - that alone shows you how difficult it
is to reach this unique heavyweight championship milestone.
It will be mighty interesting to see how many more title defenses Wilder can tally during
this championship reign, and I for one, cannot wait to see Wilder back in action.
Thanks for watching everyone, hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night.
This is Rummy's Corner.