Deontay Wilder’s Lame Excuse Gets No Brownie Points for Originality

Published

4 years ago

November 6, 2020

Deontay Wilder’s Lame Excuse Gets No Brownie Points for Originality

Deontay Wilder had 43 pro fights under his belt before he suffered his first pro loss. But the Alabama knockout artist didn’t just lose to Tyson Fury in their rematch. In the court of public opinion, he fell from grace with a thud.

Knocked down twice before referee Kenny Bayless waived the fight off in the seventh stanza, the Bronze Bomber initially blamed his woeful performance on the elaborate costume that he chose for his ring walk. Reportedly costing $40,000, the rhinestone-studded outfit – which didn’t stand out or photograph well in the dark arena – was designed, said Wilder, to celebrate Black History Month, but it’s a fair guess that most folks wouldn’t have made that connection. This reporter’s first impression was that Wilder got his months mixed up and thought that Halloween fell in February.

The costume, said to weigh 40 pounds, was cumbersome: “I didn’t have no legs from the beginning of the fight,” Wilder told Yahoo’s Kevin Iole. “In the third round, my legs were just shot all the way through.”

costume

Finding excuses for a bad outing is old hat in sports, especially boxing, and the list of excuses is long. In blaming his performance on his ring costume, Deontay Wilder invented a new category.

He should have left it at that, but this past Saturday, in a rambling and somewhat incoherent two-minute video, Wilder doubled-down with a hackneyed excuse, alleging, among other things, that his water was spiked with some sort of muscle relaxer. He pointed the finger of blame at co-trainer Mark Breland.

The “someone messed with my water” accusation is hoary. It likely first cropped-up in the bare-knuckle era.

James J. Jeffries, who won the world heavyweight title from Bob Fitzsimmons, was undefeated when he retired in 1904. Reluctant to return to the ring, he eventually succumbed to the fervent plea to come back and restore the title to the white race.

Jeffries was favored over Jack Johnson when they met at Reno in 1910 in the first Fight of the Century, but Big Jeff was a shell of his former self and won nary a round until the bout was stopped in the 15^th.

In hindsight, the outcome was predictable. In retirement, Jeffries’ weight ballooned to 315 pounds and after trimming down he still had plenty of rust to shed after being out of action for almost six full years. But immediately there was talk that Jeffries had been drugged, talk that he encouraged. “It would have been impossible for me to break down in the condition I was in, so suddenly, unless someone got to me in an underhanded way. That I was tampered with is a certainty,” he said.

The famous sportswriter Robert Edgren “confirmed” the persistent rumor in a story written for Liberty magazine in 1926, but put a new spin on it. According to Edgren, it wasn’t Jeffries’ water that was spiked, but rather a cup of tea that Jeffries consumed after being conned into thinking that his wife had made it for him. “They gave him enough (sedative) to knock out an elephant,” wrote Edgren, a longtime pal of Jim Jeffries.

Flash forward to 1995 and one finds George Foreman making a similar accusation regarding his iconic 1974 “Rumble” with Muhammad Ali. In his autobiography “By George,” co-authored with Joel Engel, Foreman accused his former trainer/manager Dick Sadler of dehydrating him and said that Sadler may have also tainted his water. He further alleged that Sadler had taken $25,000 from him to give to referee Zack Clayton as an insurance policy to make certain Clayton would not disqualify him. He conceded that he did not know if the referee received the under-the-table payment or if Sadler had kept the money for himself.

Foreman reiterated the part about the water in his 2007 book “God in my corner,” his first of two collaborations with Ken Abraham. “I almost spit it out,” Foreman said. “(I told Sadler), ‘Man, I know this water has medicine in it.’ I climbed into the ring with that medicinal taste still lingering in my mouth.…After three rounds, I was as tired as if I had gone 15.” (Upon hearing this, Muhammad Ali purportedly quipped, “there was worse medicine waiting for him when he got in the ring.”)

Foreman’s 1995 book caused him some flack. Dick Sadler, who had been with Foreman since the advent of George’s pro career – and had worked with other boxers before him, notably Archie Moore – was well-respected in the boxing community. Moreover, it didn’t jibe that Foreman, who replaced Sadler with Gil Clancy following his loss to Ali, rehired Sadler as his lead trainer in 1977 following his loss to Jimmy Young (albeit they would never team up again in an actual fight as Foreman abandoned boxing for the ministry).

When Foreman reiterated his allegation in his 2007 book, there was no backlash whatsoever. By then, Big George had charmed his way into the hearts of millions and to smudge him was tantamount to sacrilege. And Sadler was no longer around to defend himself. He died in 2003 at age 88.

Commenting on Deontay Wilder’s most recent allegation, Kevin Iole used the word heinous.

We get it. Mark Breland, the former Olympic gold medalist and former two-time welterweight champion, is a man of unimpeachable integrity. Throwing him under the bus was contemptible. However….lighten up, Kevin.

Aside from some of Wilder’s homies, it’s doubtful that anyone is giving any credence to Deontay’s bizarre accusations. Breland, who thus far hasn’t seen fit to dignify Wilder’s assertion with a rebuttal — at least not publicly – won’t have trouble finding other fighters to train; his reputation is solid.

Wilder’s frustration may have clouded his judgment. There was a rematch clause in his contract with Tyson Fury, but Fury’s co-managers Frank Warren and Bob Arum found a loophole in the fine print that has enabled them to renege on the deal. Fury will now face someone else when he next steps into the ring – reputedly in London in December with Agit Kabayel in the opposite corner – while Wilder’s career is in limbo.

It has been written that those with a financial stake in Wilder’s career were likely chagrined by these latest developments. We doubt that. It will serve Wilder well to keep his name in the news, even if he comes across as a buffoon. Someday, someone will write the story of his life, an “as told to” book where Wilder will share in the royalties – shucks, fighters of far lesser importance have been the subject of authorized biographies, some even with the backing of strong publishing houses.

When that book is written, it will garner a few more sales if Wilder sticks tight to his conspiracy theories. Just ask George Foreman.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Arne K. Lang

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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

3 hours ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside-at-the-Fontainebleau-where-Mikaela-Mayer-won-her-Rematch-with-Sandy-Ryan

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 Ryan’s 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 women’s 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), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s 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 Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t 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 boxing’s 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 “Shu Shu” 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 hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s 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, California’s 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. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s 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

Published

4 hours ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

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 fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s 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 corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s 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.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s 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? That’s 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 Mexico’s 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 fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

2 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-319-Rematches-in-Las-Vegas-Cancun-and-More

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.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s 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 money’s 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?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

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. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I 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,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s 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 “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” 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 Zepeda’s 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. It’s 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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