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Deontay Wilder May Be a One-Trick Pony, But What an Extraordinary Trick It Is
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 âThe Bronze Bomberâ Wilderâs vaunted overhand right canât 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 Vegasâ 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 Ortizâs 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 Wilderâs 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 challengerâs 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 Brooklynâs 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 champâs versatility, such as it is, with a ripping right uppercut nearly separating Ortizâs large head from his broad shoulders.
âI was clear-headed when I hit the canvas,â Ortiz said, despite evidence to the contrary. âWhen I heard the referee say `sevenâ I was trying to get up. But I guess the count went a little quicker than I thought.â
But there was nothing amiss with Baylessâ 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 didnât 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 Wilderâs 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.
âYou know, my intellect is very high in the ring, even though I donât get no credit for it,â 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 Cheekâs. âBut, 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.â
Maybe it now is time to assess how Wilderâs punching power stacks up against the hardest-hitting heavyweights ever. By defending his WBC title for the 10th 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 sportâs 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 â still absent from many astute observersâ top 10 pound-for-pound lists â 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. Itâs 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 Wilderâs earlier defenses, disputed the notion that Wilder is still as raw and unrefined as he was when he dethroned Stiverne.
âI donât work with the dude anymore, but the `Wilder has no talentâ narrative is trash,ââ DiBella tweeted. âThe ability to destroy an `Aâ 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.â
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 Swedenâs tougher-than-expected Otto Wallin to proceed on that date. If Wilderâs history in rematches with Stiverne and now Ortiz is any indication, an exclamation-point finish against the âGypsy Kingâ 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.
âI am the best in the world and I say it with confidence,â 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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LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryanâs WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in womenâs boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlantaâs Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Ricoâs Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevasâs eyes and didnât like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxingâs youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce âShu Shuâ Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadnât previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonioâs Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, Californiaâs Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. Â However, he wasnât afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree â he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder âFerociousâ Fernando Vargas â is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel âMannyâ Chance, one of Top Rankâs newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Calâs Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighterâs attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmerâs escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his cornerâs appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepedaâs body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
âI knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,â said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
âBut I dominated the last rounds,â said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
âIâm glad we both put on a great show,â said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Ricaâs Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? Thatâs the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexicoâs Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighterâs fifth consecutive title defense.
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Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.
Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.
Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.
âIt’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,â Mayer told the BBC.
If you follow Mayerâs career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.
For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.
Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.
No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.
Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.
The fight breakdown
Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.
Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.
That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.
More drama.
During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.
New York City got its moneyâs worth.
Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.
Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?
âI wanted the rematch straight away,â said Ryan on social media. âIâve come to America again.â
Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.
That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?
Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. Itâs not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. Itâs something that canât be taught.
Can she draw enough of that fire out again?
âI didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,â said Mayer to BBC. âThat’s not the fighter I am though.â
Co-Main in Las Vegas
The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Ricoâs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.
Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.
Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.
Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce âShu Shuâ Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.
Golden Boy in Cancun
A rematch between undefeated William âCamaronâ Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.
In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepedaâs tornado style.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.
Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. Itâs a toss-up fight.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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