Deontay Wilder has been repeatedly dismissed as “a country boy” throughout his career. Perhaps a Southern drawl and polite charm is disarming, but the American South has produced an unusually high number of boxing history’s biggest sluggers. And Wilder’s home state of Alabama just has something in the water that produces monsters.

Like Wilder, two of the heavyweight division’s scariest knockout artists, Joe Louis and Earnie Shavers, were born there. And like Wilder, they knocked opponents flat in a captivating way.

Past the “Heart of Dixie” connection, though, their physical differences only underscore the reality that there is no punching formula. Louis looked athletic and lean, yet still muscular, while Shavers was a bit shorter and built like an absolute tank. Wilder has the sort of wiry frame we’ve come to expect from some punchers. They also fought with clearly different styles. Or, in Wilder’s case, still fighting.

With only two of Wilder’s 48 fights going the distance, there can be no question he’s been one of boxing’s most exciting fighters in the last 15 years. When Wilder fights, everyone watching is all but guaranteed a crushing knockout, and that’s perhaps the only aspect of boxing everyone enjoys.

In 2003, The Ring released its definitive list of The 100 Greatest Punchers of All Time, and while there would be some changes in the last 20 years, the odds are in Wilder’s favor in at least one way: heavyweights feature prominently. Six of the top 10 on the list, and 10 of the top 25, are heavyweights.

Statistics like that aren’t enough, however. A slightly closer look at Wilder’s career and punching ability is necessary to even begin to find his place in history.

Wilder dealt with skepticism from early on in his career despite winning bronze in the 2008 Olympics. An unbridled, free-swinging style that was low on fundamentals seemed as though it could be handled by a more classic boxer. Wilder had just proven his first victory over Bermane Stiverne wasn’t a fluke by scoring a nasty first-round KO in their rematch, and the explosive victory also proved his power was very real.

The issue was that Ortiz, while older than most contenders, was a well-schooled boxer-puncher from the harsh Cuban system. He was a clear underdog against Wilder, but insiders knew about his multiple Cuban amateur championship titles and figured his 30-pound weight advantage over Wilder would be a considerable challenge.

Through nine rounds, Ortiz boxed well and even rose from a fifth-round knockdown. There were a few too many rounds where Wilder didn’t throw or land enough and Ortiz looked relatively comfortable. Then in Round 10, just when a stalking Ortiz appeared ready to dial up his offense, he ate a right hand that changed the fight entirely. Ortiz was thrown to the canvas before getting up and absorbing more right hands that put him down.

While on the canvas, Ortiz looked toward his corner as if he couldn’t believe they’d done this to him. But he beat the count and faced Wilder down one last time before a handful of glancing right hands sent him down, and the fight was immediately waved off.

Chalk it up to big fight jitters, but in 2015 Wilder couldn’t take out Bermane Stiverne in his only win that went the distance. Stiverne hasn’t fared that well in the 10 years since, but at the time he was 24-1-1 with two recent victories over Chris Arreola and he held the WBC title. Wilder actually controlled most of the 12 rounds with his jab, shaking up Stiverne a few times along the way. But Stiverne looked surprisingly sturdy and held up to Wilder’s right hands, and even more surprising, the latter absorbed big shots just fine, too.

To be frank, getting outboxed by Wilder likely doesn’t bode well for a heavyweight’s future. But in the rematch, Wilder needed less than one round to leave Stiverne in a folded-up heap against the ropes, making any argument about the first fight entirely moot.

After Wilder first won the WBC title against Stiverne, he marched over to the ropes and shouted into the crowd, “Who can’t box?”

Knocking out such a high percentage of opponents rules out coincidence, but it’s actually Wilder’s unorthodox approach and lack of classic technique that makes his style so effective. Combined with being 6-foot-6 and having an 83-inch reach, it allows him to land punches from shocking angles and distances that fighters often don’t even consider possible.

From the standpoint of classic skills or technique, Wilder’s jab improved over time and he got better at straightening out his right hand. Like many punchers, however, Wilder fought knowing he could end the fight at any time, which led to some losses and taking more damage in some victories.

Objectively speaking, Wilder’s skills are not upper tier.

The biggest knock on Wilder is the level of his opposition over the first half of his career, and even after that, the punch usually was enough despite his apparent lack of skill. Going 0-2-1 with Tyson Fury is nothing to be ashamed of, especially after shaking him to his boots several times. All three fights proved that Wilder can turn any fight around with one punch.

Wilder’s subsequent losses against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang came at what is clearly the tail end of his fighting days, making it difficult to figure out what they mean toward his overall career. If nothing else, Wilder has continued to show bravery and an unshakable will.

70-80.

Watching explosive knockouts like Wilder’s wins over Artur Szpilka, Robert Helenius and Stiverne, it’s tempting to rank him much higher. There can be no question that Wilder’s power is ghastly, but the only world class fighter Wilder stopped was Ortiz. That’s not to say Wilder couldn’t have been a knockout artist in other heavyweight eras, because he may have been. He fought in his own era, though, and it wasn’t a good era.

Should Wilder defeat Tyrrell Herndon, it probably won’t do much to drastically change anyone’s mind about his career. What also can’t be changed is all Wilder has done in boxing. He was a world champion who fought nearly 100 times between the amateurs and the pros. He fought in a dozen states and competed in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, México, England and Trinidad and Tobago. He took the best heavyweight of his generation to the brink, more than once.

And that’s not too bad for a country boy.