by David P. Greisman

Artur Szpilka thinks he will do something that 35 others have failed to do — beat Deontay Wilder when he challenges the heavyweight titleholder in the main event of a Jan. 16 Showtime broadcast at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“I am going to kick your ass,” Szpilka said on a Dec. 16 media conference call, with Wilder also on the phone.

“I have everything what a good boxer has — a strong punch, good legs. I am confident, and I know this is my time,” he added later. “Deontay Wilder is a great fighter. He is strong. I have respect for him. But he never fight with somebody like me. One fighter who was good, I think, was Bermane Stiverne, and that’s it. He will see 16th of January. I am ready.”

Wilder is 35-0 with 34 KOs. But Szpilka draws a difference between the first 32 fighters Wilder faced and the most recent opponents.

“Only three people actually tried to fight him,” Szpilka said through a translator. “The rest of them lost before they even stepped in the ring. They were afraid.”

Wilder nevertheless scored a unanimous decision victory over Stiverne to win the title last January, got past being wobbled by Eric Molina to score a knockout win in June, then battled through a gritty effort from Johann Duhaupas before scoring a technical knockout win in September.

Szpilka has won four in a row since his January 2014 stoppage loss to Bryant Jennings, outpointing Tomasz Adamek and then making quick work of Ty Cobb, Manuel Quezada and Yasmany Consuegra. He is 20-1 with 15 KOs.

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com