Curtis Harper says he is ready to take a chance against former heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder when they go head-to-head in a heavyweight clash April 26.
Harper, an 18-11 (12 KOs) pro from Jacksonville, Florida, is expected to slug it out with Wilder – one of the most dangerous punchers of his, or any, era – at the Gateway Center in Atlanta. He believes the time is ripe to showcase his talent and take his big shot.
“I’m going to be in the best shape to fight Deontay Wilder, mentally and physically,” Harper told BoxingScene. “I expect to show people what I can do and what I’m capable of given the time and the right opportunity to do so.”
Harper, 36, is on a four-fight winning streak, including most recently a second-round knockout of Francois Russell in December. Leading up to that run, Harper suffered four straight losses between 2022-2023.
A fight with Wilder, 43-4-1 (42 KOs), will be the biggest by far in Harper’s 15-year pro career, but despite its magnitude, Harper is approaching it as he would any other ring outing.
“He’s a former heavyweight champion of the world and he’s just another man,” Harper said of Wilder. “Nothing special, he’s just another man. You can never underestimate somebody by their last losses, just who they are when they walk into that ring, so they’re underestimating me.
“I’m gonna go in there as if I’m Curtis Harper and he’s supposed to put me down. And I’m gonna stop everything in my will to put him down. It’s gonna be a fight. Fist for fist, blow for blow. And he is lucky if he makes it out alive.”
Meanwhile, Wilder, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has recorded just one win in his past five fights. After consecutive defeats to Tyson Fury, Wilder stopped Robert Helenius in one round in October 2022. Wilder would go on to lose consecutively to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang in his next bouts.
Harper knows the optics of a 36-year-old, 11-loss fighter taking on a recent heavyweight titleholder, but he considers the opportunity to be every bit as big as the challenge – and he isn’t ready to concede it.
“A champion doesn’t prove how good you are,” Harper said. “Being a world champion doesn’t prove how good you are. I’m a good fighter, and I’m only gonna be a better fighter. And before it’s all over, I’m gonna be the best fighter there is.
“I don’t have to put a title around my waist to tell me that or to show the world that I’m the best or that I’m going to be here.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].
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