Deontay Wilder is a boxer known for his tremendous power and hard-hitting style, with brute force arguably his biggest asset.

The 36-year-old is one of the most established boxers currently residing in the heavyweight division, having had 45 professional fights. His record stands at 42 wins, two losses and one draw. Testament to his punching power, he has won all but one of these 42 victories by knockout.

The two losses on his record sheet have come in his two most recent fights, though. Both of these defeats coming at the hands of Tyson Fury; who is also responsible for the draw on Wilder’s resume. This draw is contentious in itself, as it is widely believed that Fury should have been awarded the victory, despite the heavy knockdown he suffered in the final round.

It seems that the recent consecutive defeats have led to Wilder and his camp rethinking their approach.

Wilder has been pictured in training this month looking remarkably lean, especially when compared to a picture of the American during the fight with Fury last October.

TalkSPORT's Michael Benson has posted a side-by-side photo comparing Wilder back in October to Wilder now, and the difference is very clear and very telling.

Promoter Frank Warren has said that Wilder is due to fight the big-hitting Robert Helenius in October, although this is yet to be confirmed, and it appears that Wilder is set to be much smaller than when we last saw him in the ring.

This is likely a ploy to improve Wilder’s endurance and his ability to maintain his knockout power deep into fights, particularly when you consider the knockout he received against Fury was in the 11th round. 

Wilder is more comfortable at a lower weight. He bulked up massively after his victory over Luis Ortiz in 2019 and hasn’t won a fight since.

Whilst this must be caveated with the fact that both fights since have been against Fury, it does seem to make sense for Wilder to shred weight ahead of his next fight.

Wilder and his camp will be hoping that loss of mass doesn’t equate to a loss in power, as with the weight it looks as though Wilder has lost some muscle.

Will this shift in training plan work for Wilder, or will he lose an unthinkable third consecutive fight?