Deontay Wilder & The Recent History of Other Heavyweight KO Sensations

Published

10 years ago

March 19, 2014

From the waist up he’s built as if he were the first man into the great gene pool, he’s got long and fast twitch muscle on top of muscle. From the waist down he’s extremely thin and has very spindly like legs. He’s 6’7″ and has an 84 inch reach and being only 28, so there’s a good chance he’ll add even more muscle onto his athletic frame. At least that’s been the case with most of the new era heavyweights who stood over 6’4″ and eventually fought for a version of the heavyweight title.

His name is Deontay Wilder and he is America’s latest hope to reclaim the heavyweight title, something that was almost a staple of heavyweight boxing until about 15 years ago. Wilder is undefeated in 31 pro bouts and hasn’t yet had to go the distance in any of them. He started boxing in 2005 and won a Bronze medal at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. He’s a boxer-puncher and has many observers hoping he turns out to be a heavyweight version of former five division champ Thomas Hearns, who unquestionably had dynamite in both hands and scored some of the most picturesque knockouts in boxing history. Nothing excites boxing fans like watching a legitimate heavyweight knockout artist demolishing top contenders on his way to the title. Since the Mike Tyson era or roughly the last 25 years, there’s been a handful of fighters who were promoted as once in a generation type punchers, Lennox Lewis, Tommy Morrison, David Tua, Wladimir Klitschko and Samuel Peter. I’m sure I’ve left a few out but the ones mentioned are the fighters who immediately stick out in my mind. Of the five, Lewis and Klitschko were the only big hitters who you could say were close to being a complete fighter/boxer, that being they could win by knockout or by out-boxing their opponent.

Tua was the biggest single shot puncher of the group but was out-boxed or out-worked in his biggest fights. Morrison had questionable stamina and was betrayed by his chin, like Lewis and Klitschko, a few times in big fights. Peter was a heavy handed crude fighter and that basically sums him up.

Of the five mentioned only Lewis and Klitschko went on to make a significant mark in the division and are hall of fame worthy fighters. Which pretty much suggests that to succeed and really make a mark in boxing, even as a heavyweight, a fighter driven by his punch and power alone, isn’t usually enough. And to this point Wilder isn’t blowing anybody away with his skills or refinement as a fighter. His power and punch have been enough to overcome the level of opposition he’s faced, and that has most observers trying to deduce whether or not that’ll be enough to carry him when he faces upper-tier opposition at the championship level.

As of this writing most of the questions asked about Wilder as a fighter center around his chin and what kind of a punch he takes? However, I think there’s more to question about Wilder than just his chin. For starters, I’m not totally sure about his power. Sure, he can hit and his right hand looks very legitimate, but I’m not sure it’s on the level of the fighters mentioned. By the time they were into their sixth year as a pro, based on their opposition, I didn’t have a morsel of a doubt that Lewis was a killer with his right hand and the same applied to Klitschko. After watching Tua and Morrison ice opponents with a single left-hook, was there the slightest doubt that they were once in a generation type bangers? No. Even Peter’s destruction of Jeremy Williams was more frightening and memorable than any knockout that Wilder has scored in 31 fights. And even though Morrison, Tua and Peter turned out to be the real deal in the power dept, they never really had much of a say regarding the heavyweight title. Morrison won the vacant WBO title versus an out of shape 44 year old George Foreman and lost it in his first defense versus Michael Bentt. Tua lost to Lewis in his only title shot and Peter won the WBC title against Oleg Maskaev, who hadn’t fought in nearly a year and a half and lost it to Vitali Klitschko who hadn’t fought in nearly four years in his first defense.

In addition to not being sold that Wilder is a genuine once in a generation puncher, the questions about his chin must be asked and eventually answered. And of course his stamina and durability have yet to be addressed. His jab looks formidable and despite scoring knockouts with his left hook versus low level opposition, we can’t say one way or the other just how much of a weapon it really is. He has good hand speed and isn’t afraid to let his hands go, but his offense, at least that I’ve seen is pretty vanilla and basic and lacks imagination.

Back in 1970 heavyweight contender Mac Foster compiled a record of 24-0 (24). At that time there were many followers and insiders who had the same questions about Foster, who built up his record feasting on journeymen and washed up contenders and former title holders the way Wilder has. In his first real test Foster fought Jerry Quarry with the understanding that if he could get by Jerry, he’d be heavyweight champ Joe Frazier’s next opponent. Quarry was a year removed from coming out on the wrong end of a seven round war with the undefeated Frazier. For three rounds Foster got the better of it against Quarry, then he got hit on the chin by some beautiful short hooks and right hands from Jerry in the fourth round. Foster made it to the sixth round and was counted out thus resurrecting Quarry’s career and earning him a shot at Muhammad Ali in his comeback bout four months later. Foster continued on after Quarry but never fought for the title.

History, at least going back to the seventies, is replete with heavyweights who built up a big undefeated record littered with impressive knockouts. Starting with George Foreman and up through Wladimir Klitschko, we’ve seen these type of fighters come along and the same questions, usually regarding their heart, chin and toughness were asked. There’s definitely a buzz going around about Deontay Wilder. But for some reason there’s an underlying feeling that something’s not quite legit about him. Usually, you get American fans frothing at the mouth over an undefeated American heavyweight with big power. But, with Wilder, you’re getting people asking a lot of questions, more so than there’s been about past fighters who were perceived as catch ‘n’ kill destroyers. Why is that? Foreman and Tyson fought a lot of the lower tier opposition that Wilder has faced on the way up, but for some reason they both looked like a safe bet to win the title and be around for a while, something I’m not comfortable saying about Wilder. And that was during an era when the division was much deeper. In Foreman’s case it was easy to see why he had a lot of support – because he won a Gold Medal at the 1968 Olympics and knocked out every opponent he faced but one. But Tyson, who was listed at 5’11” but was really only 5’10,” didn’t even make the 1984 Olympic team. Wilder made the US Olympic team and won a bronze medal, and he’s a giant with a pair of lats in his back that look like wings. Yet for some reason there’s more questions about him at nearly the same stage of his career than there were regarding Foreman, Tyson, Lewis, Morrison and Tua.

Those questions won’t be answered until Wilder finally fights a top-10 contender, just as it was the case with the previous American heavyweight knockout sensation Seth Mitchell when he stepped up and fought a legitimate contender in Chris Arreola. Mitchell didn’t make it out of the first round versus Arreola, hopefully Wilder will fare better when his moment of truth finally arrives. So we’ll just have to wait a little longer about what to make of Deontay Wilder the heavyweight destroyer. But rest assured we’ll soon get the answer because he will most likely face a real contender or title-holder in his next fight and nobody knocks everybody out, nobody.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Frank Lotierzo

Canelo-Charlo Gets All the Ink, but Don’t Overlook the Compelling Match-up of Gassiev-Wallin in Turkey

Published

2 hours ago

September 26, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Canelo-Charlo-Gets-All-the-Ink-but-Don't-Overlook-This-Compelling-Match-in-Turkey

Canelo-Charlo Gets All the Ink, but Don’t Overlook the Compelling Match-up of Gassiev-Wallin in Turkey

The eyes of the boxing world will be on Las Vegas this Saturday where Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez risks his four super middleweight title belts against unified 154-pound champion Jermell Charlo. Earlier that day at a luxury resort hotel in the city of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, there’s a heavyweight match sitting under the radar that may prove to be the better fight. It’s an intriguing match-up between former world cruiserweight title-holder Murat Gassiev and Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin, a bout with significant ramifications for boxing’s glamour division.

Gassiev (30-1, 23 KOs) and Wallin (25-1, 14 KOs) have only one loss, but those setbacks came against the top dogs in the division. Gassiev was out-boxed by Oleksandr Usyk back in the days when both were cruiserweights. Wallin gave Tyson Fury a world of trouble before losing a unanimous decision.

Since those fights, both have been treading water.

Gassiev

Gassiev was inactive for 27 months after his match with Usyk while dealing with legal issues and an injury to his left shoulder. He is 4-0 (4 KOs) since returning to the ring while answering the bell for only eight rounds. The only recognizable name among those four victims is German gatekeeper Michael Wallisch. After stopping Wallisch, Gassiev was out of action for another 13 months while reportedly dealing with an arm injury.

A first-round knockout of Carlouse Welch, an obscure 40-something boxer from the U.S. state of Georgia on Aug. 26, 2022, in Belgrade, Serbia, was promoted as a title fight. The sanctioning body was the Eurasian Boxing Parliament (insert your own punchline here). Gassiev followed that up with a second-round knockout of former NFL linebacker Mike Balogun who came in undefeated and was seemingly a legitimate threat to him.

Although he has yet to fight a ranked opponent since leaving the cruiserweight division, Gassiev — a former stablemate of Gennady Golovkin who has been living in Big Bear, California, training under Abel Sanchez – is one of the most respected fighters in the division because he has one-punch knockout power as Balogun and others can well attest. The rub against the Russian-Armenian bruiser is that he is somewhat robotic.

Wallin

Otto Wallin, a 32-year-old southpaw from Sweden who trains in New York under former world lightweight champion Joey Gamache, fought Tyson Fury on Sept. 14, 2019 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There was a general feeling that the Swede would be a stroll in the park for Fury, but to the contrary, he gave the Gypsy King a hard tussle while losing a unanimous decision.

Wallin is 5-0 since that night beginning with victories over Travis Kauffman (KO 5) and Dominic Breazeale (UD 12), but his last three opponents were softer than soft and all three lasted the distance. In order, Wallin won an 8-round decision over Kamil Sokolowski, who was 11-24-2 heading in, won a 10-round decision over ancient Rydell Booker, and won an 8-round decision over Helaman Olguin. His bout with Utah trial horse Olguin was at a banquet hall in Windham, New Hampshire.

It isn’t that Wallin has been avoiding the top names in the division; it’s the other way around. His promoter Dmitriy Salita reportedly came close to getting Wallin a match with Anthony Joshua whose team had second thoughts about sending Joshua in against another southpaw after back-to-back setbacks to Oleksandr Usyk.

Gassiev vs Wallin is a true crossroads fight. Both are in dire need of a win over a credible opponent. At last look, Gassiev, who figures to have the crowd in his corner, was a 3/1 favorite.

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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

Published

2 days ago

September 24, 2023

David A. Avila

Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Ca.-A cool autumn night saw welterweights and minimumweights share main events for a MarvNation fight card on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Eduard Skavynskyi (15-0, 7 KOs) experienced a tangled mess against the awkward Alejandro Frias (14-10-2) but won by decision after eight rounds in a welterweight contest at the indoor furnace called the Thunder Studios.

It was hot in there for the more than 600 people inside.

Skavynskyi probably never fought someone like Mexico’s Frias whose style was the opposite of the Ukrainian’s fundamentally sound one-two style. But round after round the rough edges became more familiar.

Neither fighter was ever damaged but all three judges saw Skavynskyi the winner by unanimous decision 79-73 on all three cards. The Ukrainian fighter trains in Ventura.

Bustillo Wins Rematch

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In the female main event Las Vegas’ Yadira Bustillos (8-1) stepped into a rematch with Karen Lindenmuth (5-2) and immediately proved the lessons learned from their first encounter.

Bustillos connected solidly with an overhand right and staggered Lindenmuth but never came close to putting the pressure fighter down. Still, Bustillos kept turning the hard rushing Lindenmuth and snapping her head with overhand rights and check left hooks.

Lindenmuth usually overwhelms most opponents with a smothering attack that causes panic. But not against Bustillos who seemed quite comfortable all eight rounds in slipping blows and countering back.

After eight rounds all three judges scored the contest for Bustillos 78-74 and 80-72 twice. Body shots were especially effective for the Las Vegas fighter in the fifth round. Bustillos competes in the same division as IBF/WBO title-holder Yokasta Valle.

Other Bouts

In a middleweight clash, undefeated Victorville’s Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) used effective combination punching to defeat Mexico’s Fredy Vargas (2-1-1) after six rounds. Two judges scored it 59-55 and a third 60-54 for Buchanan. No knockdowns were scored.

A super lightweight match saw Sergio Aldana win his pro debut by decision after four rounds versus Gerardo Fuentes (2-9-1).

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Tedious Fights and a Controversial Draw Smudge the Matchroom Boxing Card in Orlando

Published

3 days ago

September 23, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Tedious-Fights-and-a-Controversial-Draw-Smudge-the-Matchroom-Boxing-Card-in-Orlando

Matchroom Boxing was at the sprawling Royale Caribe Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida tonight with a card that aired on DAZN. The main event was a ho-hum affair between super lightweights Richardson Hitchins and Jose Zepeda.

SoCal’s Zepeda has been in some wars in the past, notably his savage tussle with Ivan Baranchyk, but tonight he brought little to the table and was outclassed by the lanky Hitchins who won all 12 rounds on two of the cards and 11 rounds on the other. There were no knockdowns, but Zepeda suffered a cut on his forehead in round seven that was deemed to be the product of an accidental head butt and another clash in round ten forced a respite in the action although Hitchins suffered no apparent damage.

It was the sort of fight where each round was pretty much a carbon of the round preceding it. Brooklyn’s Hitchins, who improved to 17-0 (7), was content to pepper Zepeda with his jab, and the 34-year-old SoCal southpaw, who brought a 37-3 record, was never able to penetrate his defense and land anything meaningful.

Hitchins signed with Floyd Mayweather Jr’s promotional outfit coming out of the amateur ranks and his style is reminiscent in ways of his former mentor. Like Mayweather, he loses very few rounds. In his precious engagement, he pitched a shutout over previously undefeated John Bauza.

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, Conor Benn returned to the ring after an absence of 17 months and won a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco. It wasn’t a bad showing by Benn who showed decent boxing skills, but more was expected of him after his name had been bandied about so often in the media. Two of the judges had it 99-91 and the other 96-94.

Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) was a late addition to the card although one suspects that promoter Eddie Hearn purposely kept him under wraps until the week of the fight so as not to deflect the spotlight from the other matches on his show. Benn lost a lucrative date with Chris Eubank Jr when he was suspended by the BBBofC when evidence of a banned substance was found in his system and it’s understood that Hearn has designs on re-igniting the match-up with an eye on a date in December. For tonight’s fight, Benn carried a career-high 153 ½ pounds. Mexico’s Orozco, who was making his first appearance in a U.S. ring, declined to 32-4-3.

Other Bouts of Note

The welterweight title fight between WBA/WBC title-holder Jessica McCaskill (15-3-1) and WBO title-holder Sandy Ryan (6-1-1) ended in a draw and the ladies’ retain their respective titles. Ryan worked the body effectively and the general feeling was that she got a raw deal, a sentiment shared by the crowd which booed the decision. There was a switch of favorites in the betting with the late money seemingly all on the Englishwoman who at age 30 was the younger boxer by nine years.

The judges had it 96-94 Ryan, 96-95, and a vilified 97-93 for Chicago’s McCaskill.

In the opener of the main DAZN stream, Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, 27, improved to 15-0 (10) with a 10-round unanimous decision over 39-year-old Toronto veteran Steve Rolls (22-3). All three judges had it 97-93. Rolls has been stopped only once, that by Gennady Golovkin.

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing

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