Deontay Wilder May Be a One-Trick Pony, But What an Extraordinary Trick It Is

Published

5 years ago

November 24, 2019

Deontay Wilder May Be a One-Trick Pony, But What an Extraordinary Trick It Is

Scientists with instruments precise enough to gauge such matters tell us that the return stroke of a lightning bolt (the current that causes the visible flash) moves upward at a speed of about 220 million miles per hour, or one-third the speed of light.

Reason also tells us that WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder’s vaunted overhand right can’t possibly move that swiftly, but its effect is no less destructive when it lands flush. Down on all three official scorecards through six rounds Saturday night at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand and seemingly in no particular hurry to do what he almost always does in the ring, Wilder finally flashed his signature lightning bolt in the closing seconds of the seventh. Thudding against Ortiz’s forehead with a concussive force only occasionally glimpsed in big-man boxing, it so electrified the dangerous Cuban southpaw that he collapsed onto his back, the whites of his eyes rolling in his head. His groggy attempt to pull himself upright before referee Kenny Bayless reached the count of 10 failed.

It went into the books as a knockout after an elapsed time of 2 minutes, 51 seconds, boosting Wilder’s professional record to 42-0-1 with 41 KOs, but no matter. The remaining nine seconds in the round, and the subsequent one-minute rest period, almost surely would not have been enough to sufficiently restore the shaken challenger’s equilibrium or to enable him to avoid that lethal weapon of a right hand for five more rounds.

It was not exactly a replay of their first meeting, on March 3, 2018, in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, when Ortiz (now 31-2, 26 KOs, 2 NC) had Wilder in trouble in the seventh round before going down and out himself in round 10. The put-away shot in that clash was a demonstration of the champ’s versatility, such as it is, with a ripping right uppercut nearly separating Ortiz’s large head from his broad shoulders.

“I was clear-headed when I hit the canvas,” Ortiz said, despite evidence to the contrary. “When I heard the referee say `seven’ I was trying to get up. But I guess the count went a little quicker than I thought.”

But there was nothing amiss with Bayless’ sense of timing, just as there was nothing wrong with the surprising patience exhibited by Wilder before capitalizing on the opening he knew would come. He didn’t take up boxing until the relative advanced age of 19, logging just 40 or so amateur bouts (Ortiz had nearly 400), including his bronze medal turn at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, before turning pro on Nov. 15, 2008, with, natch, a second-round stoppage of Ethan Cox.

The lightning bolts have continued to crackle with metronome regularity, the only two times Wilder, now 34, has been obliged to go the distance being his title-winning unanimous decision over Bermane Stiverne on Jan. 17, 2015, and a rousing split draw with lineal titlist Tyson Fury on Dec. 1, 2018. It should be noted, however, that Wilder floored Bermane three times en route to a first-round stoppage in the do-over on Nov. 4, 2017, and had Fury down twice, including a knockdown in round 12 that was almost identical to the way he put away Ortiz in Vegas. The only difference is that Fury lurched to his feet and gathered himself enough to fight back and make it to the final bell.

Throughout much of Wilder’s pro career he has fought as if his hair were on fire, wanting to get his man out of there as soon and as savagely as possible. For his second go at Ortiz, he was unaccustomedly restrained, landing just three of 31 punches in the first round and five of 31 in the second, according to statistics compiled by CompuBox. For the night, he was on target with just 34 of 184, a tepid 18.5%, with the 40-year-old Ortiz no busier, landing 35 of 179 (19.6%). The pace was almost glacial compared to the undercard bout in which WBA super bantamweight champion Brandon Figueroa and Julio Ceja, who fought to a split draw, combined to connect with an astounding 784 of 2,811 through 12 action-packed stanzas. Figueroa thus retained his title, which would have become vacant had he lost to Ceja, who came in four pounds over the 122-pound limit.

But they say all good things come to those who wait, and Wilder, co-trained by Mark Breland and Jay Deas, appears to have finally learned there are benefits that can be gained by waiting to pick your spots before unfurling that dynamite right hand.

“You know, my intellect is very high in the ring, even though I don’t get no credit for it,” said Wilder, seemingly nonplussed by the scorecards that had him trailing 59-55 on those submitted by Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld and 58-56 on Eric Cheek’s. “But, you know, I had to go in and I had to go out. I had to throw the right hand a few times and I finally got my measurement, and I took the shot. I seen the shot and I took it. I think I hurt him one time, buzzed him a little bit with the left hook. That was the start of it, and then I took my (cue) from there.”

Maybe it now is time to assess how Wilder’s punching power stacks up against the hardest-hitting heavyweights ever. By defending his WBC title for the 10^th time and whacking out Ortiz again, his kayo percentage rose a bit to 95.3%, tops among anyone who has ever held a world championship in the sport’s most prestigious division, topping the 88% mark registered by the late, great Rocky Marciano (49-0, 43 KOs). It can be argued, of course, that any such number is somewhat subjective, dependent upon the quality of opposition faced. It is becoming increasingly difficult, however, to dismiss the Tuscaloosa, Ala., native – still absent from many astute observers’ top 10 pound-for-pound lists – as a one-trick pony whose right hand is the only weapon in his arsenal. He still uses his jab mostly as a range-finder, but the word going into the second Ortiz fight was that he had been working to make his left hook something more than ornamental, which seems to have been the case. It’s not at the Joe Frazier level yet, but if it ever gets there, watch out.

Lou DiBella, who was involved in the staging of several of Wilder’s earlier defenses, disputed the notion that Wilder is still as raw and unrefined as he was when he dethroned Stiverne.

“I don’t work with the dude anymore, but the `Wilder has no talent’ narrative is trash,’” DiBella tweeted. “The ability to destroy an `A’ level opponent with a single punch at any SECOND of a fight is a singular, awesome TALENT. Give @BronzeBomber the credit he deserves. He is a scary man.”

Next up for Wilder is the contracted rematch with Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) on Feb. 22, should Fury prove he is recovered enough from the nasty gash above the right eye he suffered in his Sept. 14 unanimous-decision victory over Sweden’s tougher-than-expected Otto Wallin to proceed on that date. If Wilder’s history in rematches with Stiverne and now Ortiz is any indication, an exclamation-point finish against the “Gypsy King” no doubt would further certify the Alabaman as a big enough hitter to be part of the conversation when rating the power quotient of such legendary heavyweights as Marciano, Sonny Liston, Joe Louis, George Foreman, Jack Dempsey, Earnie Shavers, Vitali Klitschko and Mike Tyson, who was in attendance Saturday night and looking his age at 53 with a beard gone gray and a bit of middle-age paunch.

But what Wilder really wants is to have what the most recent undisputed heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis, had, which is to scoop up all the alphabet titles, eliminating any doubt as to his claim to be the biggest, baddest and best heavyweight of his generation. The other three most widely recognized belts (WBA, IBF and WBO) are currently held by the rotund but quick-handed Andy Ruiz Jr. (33-1, 22 KOs), who defends them in a rematch with Anthony Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) on Dec. 7 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. The outcome of that matchup remains to be determined, as is the likelihood of a full unification pairing of the winner and Wilder. Just as there were promotional and television obstacles in the recent past, when HBO and Showtime were highly reluctant to make bouts involving fighters from the other side of the street, the fact that Wilder is with Premier Boxing Champions, Fury with Top Rank, Ruiz with PBC and Joshua with Matchroom Boxing and DAZN could prove problematical. The sad fact is that Riddick Bowe never swapped punches with Tyson, who also rose up from the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, or Lewis, who had defeated him in the gold medal bout at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Sometimes the most contentious battles are waged not inside the ropes, but in paneled boardrooms where the cutthroat business of boxing is conducted.

“I am the best in the world and I say it with confidence,” Wilder said prior to the Ortiz rematch. He repeatedly has stressed that he wants fight fans to think of one man, one name, one face, when it comes to global recognition as the true heavyweight champion.

Time will tell if his quest is fulfilled.

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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.

The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.

Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.

The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.

An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.

Moses Itauma

Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.

His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.

Photo (c): Mark Robinson

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10^th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.

Bohachuk-Davis

In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.

Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.

Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.

Fisher-Allen

In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.

Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.

In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.

He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Other Bouts of Note

In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.

A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.

In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.

McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.

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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Fury-Usyk-Reignated-Can-the-Gypsy-King-Avenge-His-Londe-Defeat?

Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?

In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.

The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.

Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.

The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.

That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.

The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)

Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)

Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.

Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).

Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.

The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.

Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.

Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.

We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”

The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.

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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

The Dec. 14 fight at Tijuana between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace was conceived as a stay-busy fight for Munguia. The scuttlebutt was that Munguia’s promoters, Zanfer and Top Rank, wanted him to have another fight under his belt before thrusting him against Christian Mbilli in a WBC eliminator with the prize for the winner (in theory) a date with Canelo Alvarez.

Munguia came to the fore in May of 2018 at Verona, New York, when he demolished former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, conqueror of Miguel Cotto. That earned him the WBO super welterweight title which he successfully defended five times.

Munguia kept winning as he moved up in weight to middleweight and then super middleweight and brought a 43-0 (34) record into his Cinco de Mayo 2024 match with Canelo.

Jaime went the distance with Alvarez and had a few good moments while losing a unanimous decision. He rebounded with a 10th-round stoppage of Canada’s previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan.

There was little reason to think that Munguia would overlook Surace as the Mexican would be fighting in his hometown for the first time since February of 2022 and would want to send the home folks home happy. Moreover, even if Munguia had an off-night, there was no reason to think that the obscure Surace could capitalize. A Frenchman who had never fought outside France, Surace brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but he had only four knockouts to his credit and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records.

It appeared that Munguia would close the show early when he sent the Frenchman to the canvas in the second round with a big left hook. From that point on, Surace fought mostly off his back foot, throwing punches in spurts, whereas the busier Munguia concentrated on chopping him down with body punches. But Surace absorbed those punches well and at the midway point of the fight, behind on the cards but nonplussed, it now looked as if the bout would go the full 10 rounds with Munguia winning a lopsided decision.

Then lightning struck. Out of the blue, Surace connected with an overhand right to the jaw. Munguia went down flat on his back. He rose a fraction-of-a second before the count reached “10,”, but stumbled as he pulled himself upright. His eyes were glazed and referee Juan Jose Ramirez, a local man, waived it off. There was no protest coming from Munguia or his cornermen. The official time was 2:36 of round six.

At major bookmaking establishments, Jaime Munguia was as high as a 35/1 favorite. No world title was at stake, yet this was an upset for the ages.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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