Stephan Shaw believes Deontay Wilder, Luis Ortiz fight is ‘too close to call’
Heavyweight prospect Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw sparred with Deontay Wilder to help him prepare for Luis Ortiz. Shaw offers up his unique perspective.
Deontay Wilder brought in numerous sparring partners to help him train for his Mar. 3 bout against Luis Ortiz. One of his sparring partners, Stephan Shaw, talked to FanSided about the intricacies of Wilder’s boxing game. He also offers up his prediction for fight night.
Shaw is an up and coming heavyweight prospect. He recently inked a promotional deal with DiBella Entertainment. He has a record of 10-0, with 6 KOs. Shaw’s boxing talents have made him a consistent staple of Wilder’s training team. Wilder gets good work from Shaw, and Shaw gets tutored by the WBC heavyweight champ.
He has worked with Wilder in his camp for the Stiverne rematch and two others. Shaw’s height and size parallel Ortiz’s physicality. He is 6’4″ and weighs nearly 250 pounds. He’s an orthodox boxer, but he played the role of a southpaw during his time with Wilder.
“They wanted me to come work southpaw with him [Wilder],” said Shaw. “It was a bit of a challenge, but I adapted pretty quick because it’s something I’ve been working on since I was a young kid. I felt very comfortable. My defense was pretty good. I gave him some real good work.”
Based on his observation of Oritz’s previous fights, Shaw noticed several stylistic tendencies:
"I’ve seen Luis Ortiz fight and I know he likes to do a pull-counter. He steps back with his left foot or steps to the side and tries to counter the guy that’s throwing a lazy jab or a right hand—pretty much like how he knocked out his last guy [Daniel Martz]. I know that’s one of his signature shots. I know he likes to throw uppercuts on the inside. He does a double jab and a left to the stomach sometimes. I was working on that with Deontay as well."
Southpaws are difficult for conventional boxers. Szpilka gave Wilder some trouble when they fought in 2016. However, Shaw thinks that Wilder handled a southpaw look well during camp and that he has a natural defense for it.
“Deontay’s a rangy guy.” Shaw elaborated, “It’s not that easy to get in on him. When you’re walking into his range, Deontay has the bombs that he’ll land.”
Shaw’s sparring with Wilder wasn’t limited effort. They went full-out.
“It’s pretty much full effort when I’m in there with the champ,” said Shaw. “I’m going live. He’s going live. Anything can happen.”
In order for Ortiz to beat Wilder, Shaw believes that Ortiz has to “do his best to try to break Deontay’s will and his confidence.” Shaw added, “He [Wilder] has a lot of confidence. To defeat Deontay, you have to break his confidence or land some knockout shots.”
Shaw has sparred extensively with Wilder and he’s put himself in Ortiz’s shoes. With all of his insider information, Shaw thinks that Wilder has a slight advantage.
“I feel like Deontay has the edge because he’s younger,” stated Shaw. “He’s on a roll. He’s strong. This will be his statement fight if he knocks out Ortiz.”
Despite Shaw’s belief that Wilder has an “edge” over Ortiz, he believes that this is an even matchup.
“It’s 50-50. Anything can happen. It’s too close to call,” emphasized Shaw. “We’ve never seen Ortiz get hit by somebody that hits as hard as Wilder.”