Wilder beating Stiverne was so interesting, heavyweight boxing needs to see it again.

I purposely left it week to let the dust settle on what could be a monumental and significant piece of history in boxing’s world heavyweight title landscape. For too long over the past decade or so, what used to be the sports elite and most exciting weight class has languished behind for significant or special moments.

Such a statement may anger many (especially fans from Europe) as the dominance of the Klitschko’s is most definitely a significant era in Heavyweight boxing.

But not since Vitali lost a bloody battle to Lennox Lewis in six rounds, prompting Lewis to call time on his career. Or David Haye’s rise from cruiserweight to challenge Wladimir, which ended in a disappointing points defeat has there been such an interesting heavyweight title fight.

Don’t get me wrong, the Klitschko’s are supreme in their craft and were/are rightly the no1’s who are easily a class above these fighters. But in my opinion, their size had a lot to do with their dominance. I know it’s not their fault but often the opposition just seemed sacrificial lambs with no hope of causing an upset.

This title fight did something that has been all to rare in the heavyweight division. The fight itself lived up to the billing and was as exciting as the build up. Wilder was the hungry knockout artist with size and power, who has blazed a trail in the division but had not been tested at this level or been beyond 4 rounds.

Stiverne was the strong fledgling champion but underdog, who had been in with the better opponent, had experienced 12 round wars and had his chin tested but come out the other side with wins and respect.

I am not saying any of these two fighters are world greats, yet, but it really was a close 50/50 “pick’em” fight for the title, with Wilder just about edging it for favourite but generally still very close in the public’s eyes. The fight itself did not disappoint and provided a lot of unanswered questions.

The first being, Wilder can actually box. Most of his past highlights were of him wildly (no pun intended) and recklessly knocking out opponents with crazy, aggressive swings.

Stirvene knew this and often tried to lure him in during the fight to catch him on the counter.

Wilder used his jab to great effect in most of the fight and kept it at range to set up his wild swings and overhand rights, which caught Stiverne, rocking him on a few occasions.

When Stiverne looked hurt, all were expecting Wilder to go in for the kill with his trademark wild swings but he demonstrated patience, intelligence and composure to not get carried away, knowing Stiverne was still dangerous on the counter.

We also learnt that Stiverne is one strong (insert expletive) excuse my language. He took some almighty shots from Wilder, was rocked a few times and barring the end of the second round where a legitimate knockdown was not scored. He was still standing, was still dangerous and was in the fight until the last bell.

Wilder also proved he could go 12 rounds at a decent pace. Stiverne proved he’s no push over and is a legitimate contender whether people think he deserved to hold the title or not. He battled with the bigger fighter who had a longer reach but often was able to close the gap and do damage inside.

If you look through both fighters records, many may argue the calibre of fighters faced up until this point. But if you look through the heavyweight division’s title fights over the past decade, for sheer entertainment, unpredictability, and interest this was one of the best.

This is why, even though Wilder clearly won it, the one win is not enough in my opinion. There are still questions to be answered that just can’t be answered after one 12 round fight. We need a second to fully crown Wilder as the legitimate champion. We need a second to justify Stiverne is actually a level below.

We also need a second fight to fully recognise Wilder as the next big superstar in this division, and if not the guy to physically take the no1 spot from Klitschko in the ring. Definitely the guy to claim that no1 spot from him when he retires.

We were privileged to witness it, but deserved this fight. It is the type of fight the boxing public have been starved off from the heavyweight division for far to long. For that reason alone, it’s only right we get to see this fight one more time.