By Rick Reeno

Former heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (24-2-1, 21KOs) tells BoxingScene.com that newly crowned WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (33-0, 32KOs) should stay away from facing WBO/IBO/WBA/IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Last Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Wilder won a twelve round unanimous decision over Stiverne to capture the WBC crown.

"If I were him I would stay away from him....if I were him," Stiverne told BoxingScene.com.

Following Saturday's loss, Stiverne was taken to a local hospital for severe dehydration. He spent two days at the facility, where he was diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis [a breakdown of muscle fibers that leads to the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream. Myoglobin is harmful to the kidney and often causes kidney damage].

According to Stiverne, if he was "100%" he believes he would have knocked Wilder out in four rounds. That was Stiverne's prediction at last Thursday's final press conference.

"I believe the condition that I was in, it allowed him to do the twelve rounds. If it was the other way around, I don't think he would have been able to do twelve rounds," Stiverne said. 

"If I would have been healthy and not dehydrated and able to perform, like I said at the press conference - I don't think it would have went more than four rounds. In every round, I wanted to try to go in and knock him out. It was just that...I had the gun, I had the bullets, but I just couldn't pull the trigger."