Wilder vs Ortiz 2: Deontay Wilder is analysed by David Haye

David Haye has traded ferocious punches with Deontay Wilder behind closed doors – and offers insight into the devastating power of ‘The Bronze Bomber.’

America’s world heavyweight champion defends his WBC belt against Luis Ortiz in a Las Vegas rematch in the early hours of Sunday morning, live on Sky Sports.

Haye has first-hand experience of Wilder’s explosive capabilities, having shared countless rounds of sparring, and reveals what happened when they both stepped between the ropes.

When did you first meet Wilder?

I brought him into camp, prior to the Wladimir Klitschko fight when he was younger. He’s always been really good, he’s always been fast. He’s given me probably the most competitive rounds I’ve ever had in sparring.

Never turned up out of shape, was willing to really let me have it, really go at me, which is what you want from a sparring partner. You don’t want a sparring partner going through the motions. You want someone who is passionate, who is really trying to win the rounds.

What were the sparring sessions like?

The one thing you can say about Wilder, he doesn’t like giving you rounds. If you’re going to win a round against him, you have to really take it from him. I always really respected him, from the first sparring session I ever had with him, I knew this guy was something special.

Has he changed physically as a fighter?

At the time, he was only light, only just over 200lbs. He was like a big cruiserweight, but he’s filled out into a heavyweight champion pretty well now. He’s probably about 225 now, 220.

I remember I weighed more than him at the time when we were sparring. I couldn’t believe it, because he’s so much taller than me, but somehow I weighed more than him. It was really strange.

What was Wilder like as a person?

He’s a great guy, always willing to help. Whatever I needed to assist me, or getting the best out of myself. He used to do the training alongside me, the conditioning and stuff. He was never what I would consider a sparring partner. He was a world class boxer.

You get some people who are sparring partners. They just go from camp to camp. He was never a sparring partner, and I tried not to bring in sparring partners, because it gets you into bad habits. I always wanted young and hungry guys who would really go at it, and he definitely fitted the bill, maybe a little too well.

What were his strengths?

It’s obvious his power was a massive strength and his determination. He’s got a very under-rated chin as well. A lot of people think he’s chinny, he’s not. I’ve hit him with some massive shots. I never put him over. Shots that would put over most people.

You hit another heavyweight with a big shot, you are going to buckle their legs. It’s what happens in heavyweight boxing. He’s always managed to recover and always get back into rounds. We never sparred and it got to a point where he had to stop. I’d land one, he’d land one. It was just good quality rounds that really brought the best out in me, for sure.

How hard does he hit?

His punch power is 10 out of 10, that’s it. I don’t know how else to say it. You know when you’ve been hit by him. It’s very different to anyone else.

Has Wilder shown any weaknesses?

His fight against Tyson Fury was the fight where I felt he under-performed. I know he’s a significantly better boxer. Forget about punch power and knockout specialist, just as a boxing match. Jab for jab, jab to the body, jab to the head. Just boxing. He didn’t seem his usual self in that fight with Tyson Fury.

I thought he was able to box significantly better than he boxed on that night. He showed he’s got the punch power, and that’s what saved him in that fight, to get the draw. Those two knockdowns made a massive difference, but I definitely know in a rematch, his boxing will be a lot better.

I don’t really see too many weaknesses, but I saw weakness in that fight. That was him not boxing to the best of his ability. Whether that was him doing that, or whether it was Fury making him box bad. But for me, the way he was flailing, missing wildly continuously – that wasn’t really the guy that I sparred with, who was a lot more composed, a lot more settled with his boxing.

Is he rolling the dice against Luis Ortiz again?

No, it’s not a needless risk. It’s someone who is super confident in their ability. I believe he’ll win this fight a lot easier than he won the first fight. He got pressed in the seventh round and he was getting drilled up against the ropes. He looked a bit wobbly. He’s got good powers of recovery, because when he was able to come back after the next round, he was back on his boxing and he found that right hand that had evaded him for most of the fight. When he landed it, you saw the repercussions. When he hits you, you stay hit.

Ortiz is a little too old in the tooth to recover from big bombs like that. He won’t have recovered from that last fight. He’d never been knocked out like that before, never been treated like that. He’s normally the tough guy in the fight. He can’t walk someone like Wilder down. He’ll just get punched right down the middle, and I think you’re going to see the real Deontay Wilder in this rematch.

Watch Deontay Wilder’s rematch with Luis Ortiz from 2am on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Action.

(c) Sky Sports 2019: Wilder vs Ortiz 2: Deontay Wilder is analysed by David Haye