BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Deontay Wilder used a flurry of head shots to finally subdue Johann Duhaupas, stopping him 55 seconds into the 11th round to successfully defend his WBC heavyweight title Saturday night.
Duhaupas suffered a cut on the bridge of his nose in the first round, and after that Wilder (35-0) worked almost exclusively on the Frenchman’s face and head.
Despite being punched repeatedly, Duhaupas (32-3) rarely seemed fazed. He nearly fell in the fifth round, but other than that appeared to brush off the onslaught.
It wasn’t until Wilder unleashed nine consecutive head shots early in the 11th round that the referee stopped the fight.
Wilder did not emerge unscathed, overcoming an early cut that resulted in noticeable swelling under his left eye beginning in the fourth round.
After the bout, Wilder says he is hoping to lock up next year with WBO/IBO/WBA/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
"Hopefully, Klitschko and I can fight sometime in the next year. We've got to get these mandatories out of the way first, so people have to stay patient. The key is to stay patient. This is a process and a business. That fight will surely come around as long as I keep winning, which I will, and as long as he keeps winning. That fight should come around real soon and we'll have an undisputed world heavyweight champion, which will be me," Wilder said.
"Klitschko and I have sparred before. I'm the younger guy and the more time that goes by, that's an advantage for me. Each and every fight, I prove a little bit more about what people don't know about me. Of course I can take a punch. Of course I can punch and I can fight on the inside too. A lot of people don't know that. I displayed a lot [with Duhaupas] and I'd like to thank my opponent for giving me the opportunity to show that tonight. Without his toughness and ability to keep coming, I wouldn't have been able to display what I had."