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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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‘Krusher’ Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.
Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.
Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.
The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.
Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.
Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.
That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.
Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.
Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.
In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.
Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.
Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.
The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welter Week in SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.
One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.
Take your pick.
The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.
Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.
Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.
If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.
He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.
During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.
Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.
Fundora
Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.
Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.
Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.
Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.
Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?
When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.
This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.
Commerce Casino
Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.
Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.
It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.
Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?
That’s a question for another day.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).
Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).
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TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts

The Boxing Writers Association of America has announced the winners of its annual Bernie Awards competition. The awards, named in honor of former five-time BWAA president and frequent TSS contributor Bernard Fernandez, recognize outstanding writing in six categories as represented by stories published the previous year.
Over the years, this venerable website has produced a host of Bernie Award winners. In 2024, Thomas Hauser kept the tradition alive. A story by Hauser that appeared in these pages finished first in the category “Boxing News Story.” Titled “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the story was published on June 23. You can read it HERE.
Hauser also finished first in the category of “Investigative Reporting” for “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” a story that ran in the (London) Guardian. (Note: Hauser has owned this category. This is his 11th first place finish for “Investigative Reporting”.)
Thomas Hauser, who entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, was honored at last year’s BWAA awards dinner with the A.J. Leibling Award for Outstanding Boxing Writing. The list of previous winners includes such noted authors as W.C. Heinz, Budd Schulberg, Pete Hamill, and George Plimpton, to name just a few.
The Leibling Award is now issued intermittently. The most recent honorees prior to Hauser were Joyce Carol Oates (2015) and Randy Roberts (2019).
Roberts, a Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University, was tabbed to write the Hauser/Leibling Award story for the glossy magazine for BWAA members published in conjunction with the organization’s annual banquet. Regarding Hauser’s most well-known book, his Muhammad Ali biography, Roberts wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of the book to our understanding of Ali and his times.” An earlier book by Hauser, “The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” garnered this accolade: “Anyone who wants to understand boxing today should begin by reading ‘The Black Lights’.”
A panel of six judges determined the Bernie Award winners for stories published in 2024. The stories they evaluated were stripped of their bylines and other identifying marks including the publication or website for which the story was written.
Other winners:
Boxing Event Coverage: Tris Dixon
Boxing Column: Kieran Mulvaney
Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 Words): Lance Pugmire
Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 Words): Chris Mannix
The Dixon, Mulvaney, and Pugmire stories appeared in Boxing Scene; the Mannix story in Sports Illustrated.
The Bernie Award recipients will be honored at the forthcoming BWAA dinner on April 30 at the Edison Ballroom in the heart of Times Square. (For more information, visit the BWAA website). Two days after the dinner, an historic boxing tripleheader will be held in Times Square, the logistics of which should be quite interesting. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez share top billing.
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