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Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury: Train Crash in Los Angeles

Even though both the American World Champion Deontay Wilder and the British challenger Tyson Fury possess anatomies that could be compared to enormous mastodons, their fighting styles are complete opposites, which creates the opportunity for this bout on Dec. 1st at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to be one of the best fights of the year.
Thanks to his incredible power, which has been endured until the finish line by only one man in all of his 40 victories, “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder is the favorite to defeat “The Gypsy King” Fury (27-0-0, 19 KO’s) by knockout, thus retaining the WBC World Heavyweight Title, which he has held since 2015 and successfully defended seven times.
What Could Happen
As we previously stated, Wilder and Fury possess drastically different boxing styles, leaving the stage open for this fight to become an absolute war. However, it wouldn’t be surprising either if both were to be excessively cautious in order to avoid getting knocked out, a situation that would leave the crowd displeased, similar to what happened in the Fury vs Klitschko fight in November of 2015.
“The Gypsy King” was declared winner by unanimous decision in a fight of few punches, immeasurable clinching, and lack of technique, which led the referee to give warnings to both of them. Fury even had a point taken away in the 11th round due to landing an illegal “Rabbit Punch”. In that fight, Klitschko only landed 52 punches for an extremely low average of 4.3 punches per round, one of the lowest in title fight history. Fury was slightly better, landing 86 strikes with an average of 7.3 per round.
Wilder Did Not Look Good in the Open Media Workout
Like the popular saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”, Wilder should be worried, because regardless of his optimism, the performance he displayed in front of the California media left many unconvinced.
“I feel like I’m at my very best right now. Mentally, physically and emotionally I’m ready to go. Everything is perfect. I just want to get in the ring and show action. Tyson Fury doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into”, said Wilder, after concluding a session on the mitts with his trainer Jay Deas at the Churchill Boxing Club in Santa Monica.
In reality, Wilder was inaccurate with his powerful right hand when he tried to strike the mitts and similarly, his movements and footwork lacked coordination. In a general sense, he lacked rhythm, regardless of his previous eloquence.
“As a true champion, I know how to adjust to any fighter that’s in front of me. My experience facing fighters of all styles has prepared me for this special fight”, stated Wilder, still covered in sweat from his training.
Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Wilder will be defending his WBC World Heavyweight Title for the 8th time, which he acquired after unanimously defeating the Haitian-Canadian Bermane “B-Ware” Stiverne in January of 2015 in Stiverne’s first title defense.
In his most recent bout, Wilder defeated the Cuban southpaw Luis “King Kong” Ortíz, by TKO in the 10th round on March 3rd of this year at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. But even though he knocked down Ortíz in the 5th and a few times in the 10th, the North American was on the edge of defeat in the 7th, when the Cuban rocked him during the final seconds of the round. The champion was saved by the bell, and in the next round, Ortíz lacked the killer instinct that could have made him the first Cuban Heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. “King Kong’s” lack of aggression allowed Wilder to recover and take control of the fight. After the Cuban had been knocked down a few times, referee David Fields called a stop to the contest with 55 seconds remaining in the 10th round.
Wilder has stated that he has had excellent sparring sessions and is constantly making technical adjustments with Deas in order to be in optimal condition when he faces Fury, a fighter who lacks technique and constantly clinches, creating boring fights. This is how things transpired against the Ukrainian Klitschko exactly three years ago, when Fury won the IBF, WBA, WBO and fringe IBO title in a bout that took place in the German city of Dusseldorf.
In the weeks leading up to the fight, Jay Deas hasn’t missed an opportunity to praise the “Gypsy King”, born in the city of Manchester, a 30-year-old mastodon with an extraordinary reach of 85 inches. “Tyson Fury is kind of like a Rubik’s cube. But a Rubik’s cube can be solved. Fury is a very versatile fighter who can move, he can box and fight from lots of distances. He’s the total package as a fighter and on top of that he’s strong-willed mentally,” stated Deas.
Wilder conquered Stiverne for the title on January 12th of 2015 and during the following months and years both of them proceeded to compete several times, awaiting a second confrontation, a rematch which finally took place November 4th of 2017, in New York. Wilder quickly demolished the Haitian, knocking him down 3 times in the first round.
Fury Comes Back With Two Victories
After a long 30 months away from the sport, Fury came back, meanwhile losing more than 100lbs and recovering from drug addiction and alcoholism. Fury also confessed that he suffered from depression. One of the three titles that he acquired through defeating Klistchsko was stripped from him for having accepted a rematch with the Ukrainian, instead of his mandatory. The other two titles were immediately stripped when he tested positive for cocaine, leading to the cancelation of the rematch with Klitschko.
Fury returned victorious when he defeated the Macedonian Sefer Seferi by RTD in the 4th round on June 9th of this year at the Manchester Arena in England. Regardless of accomplishing the main objective, Fury looked very bad against Seferi due to such a long period of inactivity.
Two months later, on July 18th in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the “Gypsy King” outpointed the Italian Francesco Pianetta in a 10 round match.
Fury looked better than he did against Seferi, but still punched erratically and with minimal movement, although he did use the jab more effectively. At the end of the fight, Fury invigorated the more than 25 thousand fans present at Windsor Park, by announcing that he had accepted the offer to fight Wilder for the WBC Heavyweight World Title.
“They called, I answered. I said send me the contract. I said ‘yes’. Now he gets his chance to fight the lineal heavyweight champion of the world. Believe me, I will go to Las Vegas and I will bring home the belt. I will knock this man out.” Said Fury, causing the crowd to roar in excitement.
Who Will Win Wilder or Fury?
My opinion is that if both giants decide to make it a slugfest from the very beginning, Wilder, 6’7” in height, will be the winner within no more than 2 thirds of the fight. His devastating right hand, lethal and effective, and his superior physical condition will be enough to put Fury to sleep, a fighter who was away from the ring for two years and seven months following the fight with Klitschko. Fury’s only true advantage will be his weight, carrying approximately 40 pounds more than his opponent on the day of the fight.
Add the fact that the “Gypsy King” Fury, 6’9” in height, is a clumsy fighter with predictable movements, who lacks defense, and he will be forced to go all out in the opening rounds, using the clinch as his main weapon, in order to avoid falling victim to one of the powerful punches of the Tuscaloosa-born fighter with dynamite in his right hand.
Only tactical errors on Wilder’s side (lowering his hands, not using the jab to maintain distance and avoiding falling into the clinch) will lead to Fury’s victory. In conclusion, the American will emerge victorious by knockout before the beginning of the 8th round.
Translated by E.G. for J.J. Alvarez of Boxeo.tv
Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME
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Sam Goodman and Eccentric Harry Garside Score Wins on a Wednesday Card in Sydney

Australian junior featherweight Sam Goodman, ranked #1 by the IBF and #2 by the WBO, returned to the ring today in Sydney, NSW, and advanced his record to 20-0 (8) with a unanimous 10-round decision over Mexican import Cesar Vaca (19-2). This was Goodman’s first fight since July of last year. In the interim, he twice lost out on lucrative dates with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue. Both fell out because of cuts that Goodman suffered in sparring.
Goodman was cut again today and in two places – below his left eye in the eighth and above his right eye in the ninth, the latter the result of an accidental head butt – but by then he had the bout firmly in control, albeit the match wasn’t quite as one-sided as the scores (100-90, 99-91, 99-92) suggested. Vaca, from Guadalajara, was making his first start outside his native country.
Goodman, whose signature win was a split decision over the previously undefeated American fighter Ra’eese Aleem, is handled by the Rose brothers — George, Trent, and Matt — who also handle the Tszyu brothers, Tim and Nikita, and two-time Olympian (and 2021 bronze medalist) Harry Garside who appeared in the semi-wind-up.
Harry Garside

Harry Garside
A junior welterweight from a suburb of Melbourne, Garside, 27, is an interesting character. A plumber by trade who has studied ballet, he occasionally shows up at formal gatherings wearing a dress.
Garside improved to 4-0 (3 KOs) as a pro when the referee stopped his contest with countryman Charlie Bell after five frames, deciding that Bell had taken enough punishment. It was a controversial call although Garside — who fought the last four rounds with a cut over his left eye from a clash of heads in the opening frame – was comfortably ahead on the cards.
Heavyweights
In a slobberknocker being hailed as a shoo-in for the Australian domestic Fight of the Year, 34-year-old bruisers Stevan Ivic and Toese Vousiutu took turns battering each other for 10 brutal rounds. It was a miracle that both were still standing at the final bell. A Brisbane firefighter recognized as the heavyweight champion of Australia, Ivic (7-0-1, 2 KOs) prevailed on scores of 96-94 and 96-93 twice. Melbourne’s Vousiuto falls to 8-2.
Tim Tsyzu.
The oddsmakers have installed Tim Tszyu a small favorite (minus-135ish) to avenge his loss to Sebastian Fundora when they tangle on Sunday, July 20, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Their first meeting took place in this same ring on March 30 of last year. Fundora, subbing for Keith Thurman, saddled Tszyu with his first defeat, taking away the Aussie’s WBO 154-pound world title while adding the vacant WBC belt to his dossier. The verdict was split but fair. Tszyu fought the last 11 rounds with a deep cut on his hairline that bled profusely, the result of an errant elbow.
Since that encounter, Tszyu was demolished in three rounds by Bakhram Murtazaliev in Orlando and rebounded with a fourth-round stoppage of Joey Spencer in Newcastle, NSW. Fundora has been to post one time, successfully defending his belts with a dominant fourth-round stoppage of Chordale Booker.
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Thomas Hauser’s Literary Notes: Johnny Greaves Tells a Sad Tale

Johnny Greaves was a professional loser. He had one hundred professional fights between 2007 and 2013, lost 96 of them, scored one knockout, and was stopped short of the distance twelve times. There was no subtlety in how his role was explained to him: “Look, Johnny; professional boxing works two ways. You’re either a ticket-seller and make money for the promoter, in which case you get to win fights. If you don’t sell tickets but can look after yourself a bit, you become an opponent and you fight to lose.”
By losing, he could make upwards of one thousand pounds for a night‘s work.
Greaves grew up with an alcoholic father who beat his children and wife. Johnny learned how to survive the beatings, which is what his career as a fighter would become. He was a scared, angry, often violent child who was expelled from school and found solace in alcohol and drugs.
The fighters Greaves lost to in the pros ran the gamut from inept local favorites to future champions Liam Walsh, Anthony Crolla, Lee Selby, Gavin Rees, and Jack Catterall. Alcohol and drugs remained constants in his life. He fought after drinking, smoking weed, and snorting cocaine on the night before – and sometimes on the day of – a fight. On multiple occasions, he came close to committing suicide. His goal in boxing ultimately became to have one hundred professional fights.
On rare occasions, two professional losers – “journeymen,” they’re called in The UK – are matched against each other. That was how Greaves got three of the four wins on his ledger. On September 29, 2013, he fought the one hundredth and final fight of his career against Dan Carr in London’s famed York Hall. Carr had a 2-42-2 ring record and would finish his career with three wins in ninety outings. Greaves-Carr was a fight that Johnny could win. He emerged triumphant on a four-round decision.
The Johnny Greaves Story, told by Greaves with the help of Adam Darke (Pitch Publishing) tells the whole sordid tale. Some of Greaves’s thoughts follow:
* “We all knew why we were there, and it wasn’t to win. The home fighters were the guys who had sold all the tickets and were deemed to have some talent. We were the scum. We knew our role. Give some young prospect a bit of a workout, keep out of the way of any big shots, lose on points but take home a wedge of cash, and fight again next week.”
* “If you fought too hard and won, then you wouldn’t get booked for any more shows. If you swung for the trees and got cut or knocked out, then you couldn’t fight for another 28 days. So what were you supposed to do? The answer was to LOOK like you were trying to win but be clever in the process. Slip and move, feint, throw little shots that were rangefinders, hold on, waste time. There was an art to this game, and I was quickly learning what a cynical business it was.”
* “The unknown for the journeyman was always how good your opponent might be. He could be a future world champion. Or he might be some hyped-up nightclub bouncer with a big following who was making lots of money for the promoter.”
* “No matter how well I fought, I wasn’t going to be getting any decisions. These fights weren’t scored fairly. The referees and judges understood who the paymasters were and they played the game. What was the point of having a go and being the best version of you if nobody was going to recognize or reward it?”
* “When I first stepped into the professional arena, I believed I was tough. believed that nobody could stop me. But fight by fight, those ideas were being challenged and broken down. Once you know that you can be hurt, dropped and knocked out, you’re never quite the same fighter.”
* “I had started off with a dream, an idea of what boxing was and what it would do for me. It was going to be a place where I could prove my toughness. A place that I could escape to and be someone else for a while. For a while, boxing was that place. But it wore me down to the point that I stopped caring. I’d grown sick and tired of it all. I wished that I could feel pride at what I’d achieved. But most of the time, I just felt like a loser.”
* “The fights were getting much more difficult, the damage to my body and my psyche taking longer and longer to repair after each defeat. I was putting myself in more and more danger with each passing fight. I was getting hurt more often and stopped more regularly. Even with the 28-day [suspensions], I didn’t have time to heal. I was staggering from one fight to the next and picking up more injuries along the way.”
* “I was losing my toughness and resilience. When that’s all you’ve ever had, it’s a hard thing to accept. Drink and drugs had always been present in my life. But now they became a regular part of my pre-fight preparation. It helped to shut out the fear and quieted the thoughts and worries that I shouldn’t be doing this anymore.”
* “My body was broken. My hands were constantly sore with blisters and cuts. I had early arthritis in my hip and my teeth were a mess. I looked an absolute state and inside I felt worse. But I couldn’t stop fighting yet. Not before the 100.”
* “I had abused myself time after time and stood in front of better men, taking a beating when I could have been sensible and covered up. At the start, I was rarely dropped or stopped. Now it was becoming a regular part of the game. Most of the guys I was facing were a lot better than me. This was mainly about survival.”
* “Was my brain f***ed from taking too many punches? I knew it was, to be honest. I could feel my speech changing and memory going. I was mentally unwell and shouldn’t have been fighting but the promoters didn’t care. Johnny Greaves was still a good booking. Maybe an even better one now that he might get knocked out.”
* “Nobody gave a f*** about me and whether I lived or died. I didn’t care about that much either. But the thought of being humiliated, knocked out in front of all those people; that was worse than the thought of dying. The idea of being exposed for what I was – a nobody.”
* “I was a miserable bastard in real life. A depressive downbeat mouthy little f***er. Everything I’ve done has been to mask the feeling that I’m worthless. That I have no value. The drinks and the drugs just helped me to forget that for a while. I still frighten myself a lot. My thoughts scare me. Do I really want to be here for the next thirty or forty years? I don’t know. If suicide wasn’t so impactful on people around you, I would have taken that leap. I don’t enjoy life and never have.”
So . . . Any questions?
****
Steve Albert was Showtime’s blow-by-blow commentator for two decades. But his reach extended far beyond boxing.
Albert’s sojourn through professional sports began in high school when he was a ball boy for the New York Knicks. Over the years, he was behind the microphone for more than a dozen teams in eleven leagues including four NBA franchises.
Putting the length of that trajectory in perspective . . . As a ballboy, Steve handed bottles of water and towels to a Knicks back-up forward named Phil Jackson. Later, they worked together as commentators for the New Jersey Nets. Then Steve provided the soundtrack for some of Jackson’s triumphs when he won eleven NBA championships as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s also a matter of record that Steve’s oldest brother, Marv, was arguably the greatest play-by-play announcer in NBA history. And brother Al enjoyed a successful career behind the microphone after playing professional hockey.
Now Steve has written a memoir titled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Broadcast Booth. Those who know him know that Steve doesn’t like to say bad things about people. And he doesn’t here. Nor does he delve into the inner workings of sports media or the sports dream machine. The book is largely a collection of lighthearted personal recollections, although there are times when the gravity of boxing forces reflection.
“Fighters were unlike any other professional athletes I had ever encountered,” Albert writes. “Many were products of incomprehensible backgrounds, fiercely tough neighborhoods, ghettos and, in some cases, jungles. Some got into the sport because they were bullied as children. For others, boxing was a means of survival. In many cases, it was an escape from a way of life that most people couldn’t even fathom.”
At one point, Steve recounts a ringside ritual that he followed when he was behind the microphone for Showtime Boxing: “I would precisely line up my trio of beverages – coffee, water, soda – on the far edge of the table closest to the ring apron. Perhaps the best advice I ever received from Ferdie [broadcast partner Ferdie Pacheco] was early on in my blow-by-blow career – ‘Always cover your coffee at ringside with an index card unless you like your coffee with cream, sugar, and blood.’”
Writing about the prelude to the infamous Holyfield-Tyson “bite fight,” Albert recalls, “I remember thinking that Tyson was going to do something unusual that night. I had this sinking feeling in my gut that he was going to pull something exceedingly out of the ordinary. His grousing about Holyfield’s head butts in the first fight added to my concern. [But] nobody could have foreseen what actually happened. Had I opened that broadcast with, ‘Folks, tonight I predict that Mike Tyson will bite off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear,’ some fellas in white coats might have approached me and said, ‘Uh, Steve, could you come with us.'”
And then there’s my favorite line in the book: “I once asked a fighter if he was happily married,” Albert recounts. “He said, ‘Yes, but my wife’s not.'”
“All I ever wanted was to be a sportscaster,” Albert says in closing. “I didn’t always get it right, but I tried to do my job with honesty and integrity. For forty-five years, calling games was my life. I think it all worked out.”
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His next book – The Most Honest Sport: Two More Years Inside Boxing – will be published this month and is available for preorder at:
https://www.amazon.com/Most-Honest-Sport-Inside-Boxing/dp/1955836329
In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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