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The Hauser Report: The Return of Deontay Wilder

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The Hauser Report:  The Return of Deontay Wilder

Deontay Wilder, as expected, confirmed his status as a major player in the heavyweight division with a one-punch, first-round round knockout of Robert Helenius at Barclays Center on Saturday night.

Wilder, age 36, had fought twice in the preceding 34 months and been knocked out each time by Tyson Fury. Those fights showed that Deontay is exciting to watch, brave, and tough. They also showed that, while he takes a good beating, he doesn’t take a particularly good punch. And his defensive skills, such as they are, are rooted in his offense.

In some ways, Wilder’s irrational, mean-spirited response to his first defeat against Fury caused as much damage to his image as Fury’s fists did. After that loss, Deontay claimed that the costume he’d worn during his ring walk was too heavy and had robbed him of his strength. Then, without evidence, he accused Fury of fighting with loaded gloves and referee Kenny Bayless of either being drunk on fight night or taking part in a conspiracy against him. Finally, again without evidence, he claimed that Mark Breland (his trainer at the time) had tampered with his water bottle and prematurely stopped the fight.

All of that ran counter to the narrative that Premier Boxing Champions (Wilder’s promoter) was trying to build in support of the notion that Wilder is a role model. After Deontay’s second loss to Fury, in the pursuit of image control, PBC issued a statement in his name that read in part, “I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed in the outcome. But after reflecting on my journey, I now see that what God wanted me to experience is far greater than what I expected to happen. We didn’t get the win, but a wise man once said the victories are within the lessons. I would like to congratulate Tyson Fury for his victory and thank you for the great historical memories that will last forever.”

That was preferable to the diatribe that had followed loss number one. But then, when asked by Brian Custer during a September 2022 interview whether he would consider a rapprochement with Fury, Wilder replied, “Nah, never, because I know the truth behind that. I don’t condone cheating and shit like that. I know that no matter what people say. You got analysts that say, ‘If he did have something in his glove, why did you not go to the authorities?’ Why the f*%! would I go to the authorities when I have an opportunity to release my own energy and put my hands up on him in the possibility of trying to kill him and get paid millions of dollars doing it. Okay, go to the authorities and they lock him up. Then what’s next? That’s it. We proved our case. Nobody getting fed. What justice has that done? That don’t make no sense.”

In sum, people have grown accustomed to strange ramblings from Wilder. Indeed, in a February 2022 podcast with Byron Scott, Deontay addressed his decision-making process regarding his ring future with the advisory, “I’m thinking about doing Ayahuasca [a psychedelic tea that originated in South American religious rites]. That’s gonna be my decision-making process. Boxing’s put a bad taste because of what it’s done to me. It’s dangerous, politics, cheating.”

Here, one might note that Healtline reports, “Those who take Ayahuasca can experience symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, feelings of euphoria, strong visual and auditory hallucinations, mind-altering psychedelic effects, fear, and paranoia. Some experience euphoria and a feeling of enlightenment while others go through severe anxiety and panic.”

Sounds like a plan.

Then, in May, Wilder announced during the unveiling of a statue in his honor in his hometown of Tuscaloosa that he would fight again and proclaimed, “I’m coming back on popular demand because that’s all I’ve been hearing from high and low. From homeless people all the way up to millionaires. You feel me? It’s just been an amazing feeling. So many people reaching out, telling me it’s important because, without an American, heavyweight boxing really isn’t exciting.”

Later, Deontay augmented that sentiment to include, “I knew that I had to come back because I motivate and inspire so many around the world. What really got me back to this point was like, damn, the world really needs me.”

The designated victim for Wilder’s comeback fight was Robert Helenius. Born in Sweden, now living in Finland, Helenius had compiled a 31-3 (20 KOs) ring record marked by two victories over Adam Kownacki and marred by stoppage losses at the hands of Gerald Washington and Johann Duhaupas. During the Wilder-Helenius promotion, he was hyped as “Finland’s finest” (which is a bit like being a snowball’s warmest).

Helenius had never beaten a world-class fighter and wasn’t about to start on October 15. If one were to take a computer and design a perfect opponent for Wilder to stop in two rounds or less, Robert would be the guy. Years ago, I described him as having the movement of a stalagmite. Now 38 years old, he had gotten slower and easier to hit since then.

Wilder had sparred with Helenius numerous times preparatory to fighting Tyson Fury. That experience confirmed that Helenius was a “safe” opponent. Very safe. The feeling was that this would be a payday for Deontay, not a test.

Neither Wilder nor Helenius attended the August 30 kick-off press conference at Barclays Center, addressing the media electronically instead. Later, Deontay declared, “October 15 is the return of the king. My second reign is going to be filled with joy and excitement for me and those who support me.” Wilder also advised, “I want to get back to the big fights and to giving the fans what they want to see. I’m doing it for the people this time.”

One might question whether charging $74.99 to see Deontay fight Helenius on pay-per-view was doing it for the fans or to the fans.

October 15 promised to be a long night at Barclays Center with eleven bouts on the card. The first fight was scheduled to begin at 5:00 PM. The four-bout pay-per-view telecast didn’t start until nine o’clock.

The early undercard bouts were contested in a virtually empty arena and distinguished by the fact that, in one of them, both fighters (Keeshawn Williams and Julio Rosa) wore pink trunks.

In the first pay-per-view bout of the evening, Emmanuel Rodriguez dominated Gary Antonio Russell throughout the fight. Then, in the latter stages of round nine, Russell headbutted Rodriguez, who suffered a cut beneath his right eye and fell to the canvas, stunned. Rodriguez appeared to be in no condition to continue. But inexplicably, referee Benji Esteves (who has Magomed Abdusalamov vs. Michael Perez and Arturo Gatti vs. Joey Gamache on his refereeing resume) allowed the fight to go on. Fortunately, there were only fifteen seconds left in the round. Rodriguez survived those seconds, after which Nitin Sethi (chief medical officer for the New York State Athletic Commission) stopped the bout. The fight went to the scorecards because it had been terminated as the result of a headbutt (ruled “accidental” by Esteves – a questionable determination) and Rodriguez won a lopsided unanimous decision.

Then Frank Sanchez stopped Carlos Negron in round nine of a predictably one-sided fight that referee Ricky Gonzalez stopped at precisely the right time.

That was followed by the co-featured bout of the evening – Caleb Plant vs. Anthony Dirrell in a fight styled by the WBC as a 168-pound title-elimination contest.

One year ago, Plant had a 21-0 record with 12 knockouts and was the IBF 168-pound beltholder. Then he learned the hard way in a knockout defeat that Canelo Alvarez is better than Caleb Truax, Vincent Feigenbutz, and Mike Lee (the guys Plant had defended his title against).

Dirrell, who came into the bout with a 34-2-2 (26 KOs, 1 KO by) ring ledger, is seven years older than Plant. Eight years ago, Anthony held the WBC 168-pound belt before losing to Badou Jack in his first title defense.

At the August 30 kick-off press conference, Dirrell had played the role of loud-mouthed instigator, calling Plant a pussy, etcetera, etcetera, and so forth. His infantile behavior continued through the final pre-fight press conference.

Plant took it all in stride, responding, “I definitely feel there’s a lot of jealousy there. I don’t give a fuck about where he’s from or what he says. That don’t mean nothing to me. When I beat him, it will be because I’m better than him. But he already knows that.”

Plant was an 8-to-1 betting favorite.

The fight began with Dirrell, the quicker man, looking to counter. Plant kept trying to get untracked and make something happen but couldn’t. Dirrell fought a chippy fight, fouling repeatedly in the clinches. That should have earned a warning followed by a point deduction but didn’t. Finally, in round eight, Plant took matters into his own hands and threw Dirrell to the canvas during a clinch.

Meanwhile, Dirrell had slowed down and was posturing more than fighting. The boos from the crowd were raining down.

In round nine, the boos turned to BOOM!

Plant hooked to the body and followed with a hook up top that landed flush on Dirrell’s jaw, rendering Anthony unconscious. Immediately after the knockout, with Dirrell still out cold, Caleb pantomimed shoveling dirt onto his grave.

Bad feelings between the two? Absolutely! Dirrell had been shooting off his mouth throughout the promotion as though he were to have the final word on the subject. He didn’t.

Then it was time for the main event. Wilder was a 7-to-1 betting favorite. His presence at the top of the card made the evening a happening even if Wilder-Helenius didn’t shape up as a competitive fight. That said; ticket sales had been slow. It took steep discounts and a lot of freebies to fill in the lower regions of Barclays Center. No celebrities were shown on the big overhead screen at ringside.

It should also be noted that no sport other than boxing starts its signature competitions a half-hour after midnight. Fans who had arrived at Barclays Center when the doors opened had spent more than eight hours in their seats when the bell for round one of Wilder-Helenius sounded.

They didn’t have to wait long afterward.

Wilder is a vicious puncher with an aura of menace about him. Opponents know that he wants to hurt them, short-circuit their brains. And with a single punch delivered at any time, he can do it. His record (now 43-2-1 with 42 knockouts) stands testament to that fact.

This was the first time since 2019 that Wilder had fought someone other than Tyson Fury. It had to be a relief for him to see someone other than The Gypsy King standing across the ring from him when the bell for round one sounded. Helenius had promised to bring his A-game. And maybe he did. But the fight was about Deontay, not Robert.

Helenius moved forward clumsily at the opening bell behind a pawing jab that he brought back slowly and low. Wilder bided his time; waited until Helenius leaned forward head-first while overreaching with a lunging left to the body that fell short; and closed the show with a compact righthand that landed smack in the center of Robert’s face at 2:57 of the first stanza. Referee Michael Griffin didn’t bother to count. Helenius was unconscious before he hit the canvas.

As for what comes next; on September 6, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced that the winner of Wilder-Helenius would face Andy Ruiz in a final elimination bout to determine the mandatory challenger for Tyson Fury’s WBC title. If Fury were to retire, presumably Wilder-Ruiz would then be for the WBC belt. Or the WBC might engage in some sort of slight-of-hand nonsense, designate Fury a “franchise” champion, “super” champion, or some other kind of champion, and proclaim that the winner of Wilder-Ruiz will be the WBC “world” heavyweight champion.

Twenty-nine men held a recognized version of the heavyweight championship between 1885 (John L. Sullivan) and 1979 (Larry Holmes). Then the world sanctioning organizations and their enablers took control of boxing. There have been 53 claimants since then. That’s 29 champions in 94 years as opposed to 53 “champions” in 43 years. Those numbers speak for themselves.

Meanwhile, a lot of knowledgeable people think that Deontay Wilder is the second-best heavyweight in the world today. I’m one of them.

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – In the Inner Sanctum: Behind the Scenes at Big Fights – was just published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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Thomas Hauser is the author of 52 books. In 2005, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America, which bestowed the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism upon him. He was the first Internet writer ever to receive that award. In 2019, Hauser was chosen for boxing's highest honor: induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Lennox Lewis has observed, “A hundred years from now, if people want to learn about boxing in this era, they’ll read Thomas Hauser.”

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Cain Sandoval KOs Mark Bernaldez in the Featured Bout at Santa Ynez

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Northern California’s Cain Sandoval remained undefeated with a knockout win over Mark Bernaldez in a super lightweight battle on Friday on a 360 Promotions card.

Sandoval (15-0, 13 KOs) of Sacramento needed four rounds to figure out tough Filipino fighter Bernaldez (25-7, 14 KOs) in front of a packed crowd at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez.

Bernaldez had gone eight rounds against Mexico’s very tough Oscar Duarte. He showed no fear for Sandoval’s reputed power and both fired bombs at each other from the second round on.

Things turned in favor of Sandoval when he targeted the body and soon had Bernaldez in retreat. It was apparent Sandoval had discovered a weakness.

In the beginning of the fourth Sandoval fired a stiff jab to the body that buckled Bernaldez but he did not go down. And when both resumed in firing position Sandoval connected with an overhand right and down went the Filipino fighter. He was counted out by referee Rudy Barragan at 34 seconds of the round.

“I’m surprised he took my jab to the body. I respect that. I have a knockout and I’m happy about that,” Sandoval said.

Other Bouts

Popular female fighter Lupe Medina (9-0) remained undefeated with a solid victory over the determined Agustina Vazquez (4-3-2) by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a minimumweight fight between Southern Californians.

Early on Vazquez gave Medina trouble disrupting her patter with solid jabs. And when Medina overloaded with combination punches, she was laced with counters from Vazquez during the first four rounds.

Things turned around in the fifth round as Medina used a jab to keep Vazquez at a preferred distance. And when she attacked it was no more than two-punch combination and maintaining a distance.

Vazquez proved determined but discovered clinching was not a good idea as Medina took advantage and overran her with blows. Still, Vazquez looked solid. All three judges saw it 79-73 for Medina.

A battle between Southern Californian’s saw Compton’s Christopher Rios (11-2) put on the pressure all eight rounds against Eastvale’s Daniel Barrera (8-1-1) and emerged the winner by majority decision in a flyweight battle.

It was Barrera’s first loss as a pro. He never could discover how to stay off the ropes and that proved his downfall. Neither fighter was knocked down but one judge saw it 76-76, and two others 79-73 for Rios.

In a welterweight fight Gor Yeritsyan (20-1,16 KOs) scorched Luis Ramos (23-7) with a 12-punch combination the sent him to the mat in the second round. After Ramos beat the count he was met with an eight punch volley and the fight was stopped at 2:11 of the second round by knockout.

Super feather prospect Abel Mejia (7-0, 5 KOs) floored Alfredo Diaz (9-12) in the fifth round but found the Mexican fighter to be very durable in their six-round fight. Mejia caught Diaz with a left hook in the fifth round for a knockdown. But the fight resumed with all three judges scoring it 60-53 for Mejia who fights out of El Modena, Calif.

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The Return of David Alaverdian

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By TSS Special Correspondent David Harazduk — After David Alaverdian (8-0-1, 6 KOs) scored a gritty victory against a tough Nicaraguan journeyman named Enrique Irias, his plans suddenly changed. The flashy flyweight from Nahariya, Israel hoped to face even tougher opposition and then challenge for a world title within a year or so. But a prolonged illness forced David to rip up the script.

The Irias fight was over 22 months ago. On Saturday, Feb. 22, Alaverdian will be making his first appearance in the ring since that win when he faces veteran road warrior Josue “Zurdo” Morales (31-16-4, 13 KOs) at the Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It’s the fifth promotion by Las Vegas attorney Stephen Reid whose inaugural card was at this venue on Feb. 13, 2020.

“I’m excited to come back,” Alaverdian declared.

During his preparation for Irias two years ago, Alaverdian felt fatigue after a routine six-round sparring session. “It was on April 1, 2023, about ten days before my fight. It felt like an April Fool’s joke,” he said. He came down with a sore throat, a headache, and congestion. He soon developed trouble breathing. At first, he thought his seasonal asthma had flared up, but his condition soon worsened. No matter what he did, Alaverdian could no longer take deep breaths. Fatigue continued to plague him.  His heart constantly raced. Instead of breathing from his diaphragm, he was breathing from his chest. He sought out numerous doctors in the United States and in Israel.

His symptoms were finally diagnosed as Dysfunctional Breathing (DB). DB is a condition that can stem from stress and is often misdiagnosed. Its symptoms include dyspnea and tachycardia, both of which David experienced.

While receiving treatment, the Vegas-based pro went back to Israel where he coached aspiring fighters. “David’s influence on Israeli boxing is amazing, because he shows we can succeed in a big business even though we come from a small country,” said another undefeated Israeli flyweight, 20-year-old Yonatan Landman (7-0, 7 KOs). “A lot more Israelis are going to dare to succeed.”

Landman was able to work with Alaverdian during David’s return to Israel. “He is a great guy and a friend,” Landman said. “He has a lot of willingness to help, share his knowledge, and help you move forward.”

Alaverdian finally started to feel like he could compete again eight months ago. He won last year’s Israeli national amateur championship and competed in Olympic qualifiers. Now, he’s preparing to fight as a professional once again. “He doesn’t mention anything about [his breathing issues] like he did before,” his coach Cedric Ferguson said about this camp. “He’s been working like there’s no issue at all.”

It has been a whirlwind week for the 31-year-old Alaverdian. In addition to putting the finishing touches on his preparation ahead of Saturday’s comeback fight, David got married on Tuesday. His mom came over from Israel for the wedding and will stay for the fight. “It’s a good distraction,” David said of this week’s significant events. “It helps me. That way I don’t have to focus on the fight all day.”

Josue Morales, a 32 year old from Houston, hopes to play spoiler on Saturday. The crafty southpaw has never been stopped during his 52-fight career. “He’s a seasoned guy with a lot of experience,” Alaverdian said of Morales. “He knows how to move around the ring and is more of a technical boxer. He’s a tough opponent for someone who has been out of the ring for two years.”

A win Saturday night would complete a monumental week for David Alaverdian, both in and out of the ring, repairing the once-shredded script.

Doors open at the Westgate fight arena at 6:30 pm. The first bout goes at 7:00. Seven fights are scheduled including an 8-round female fight between Las Vegas light flyweight Yadira Bustillos and Argentine veteran Tamara Demarco.

NOTE: Author David Harazduk has run The Jewish Boxing Blog since 2010. You can find him at Twitter/X @JewishBoxing and Instagram.

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Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History

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Two Candidates for the Greatest Fight Card in Boxing History

Saturday’s fight card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, topped by the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for undisputed light heavyweight supremacy, was being hyped as the greatest boxing card ever. That was before Daniel Dubois took ill and had to pull out of his IBF world heavyweight title defense against Joseph Parker, yielding his slot to last-minute replacement Martin Bakole.

The view from here is that the card remains in the running for the best fight card ever, top to bottom. The public didn’t view Dubois as the legitimate heavyweight champion. That distinction goes to Oleksandr Usyk.

Terms like “greatest” are, of course, subjective. Are we referring to the most attractive match-ups or the greatest array of talent, or the card that gives the most satisfaction by churning out a multiplicity of entertaining fights?

We won’t know how satisfying this card is until after the fact. We won’t know whether the talent on display was the greatest ever assembled on one night until many years have passed. Contestants such as Shakur Stevenson, Vergil Ortiz Jr, and Hamzah Sheeraz are still in their twenties (Stevenson is the oldest of the three at age 27) and it’s too soon to gauge if they will leave the sport with a great legacy.

As for which fight card in history had the deepest pool of attractive match-ups, this is a query that is amenable to an operational definition. Betting lines are a useful tool for informing us whether or not a fight warrants our attention if the likelihood of witnessing a closely-contested bout is our primary consideration.

Based on these factors, I would submit that the current leader in the race for the best card ever assembled goes to Don King’s May 7, 1994 promotion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Six future Hall of Famers – Julio Cesar Chavez, Ricardo Lopez, Azumah Nelson, Terry Norris, Julian Jackson, and Christy Martin — were on that card, an 11-fight, eight-hour marathon with five WBC world title fights, four of which were rematches.

These were the five title fights:

140 pounds: Julio Cesar Chavez (89-1-1, 77 KOs) vs. Frankie Randall (49-2-1, 39 KOs)

Odds: Chavez 3/1 (minus-300)

154 pounds: Terry Norris (37-4, 23 KOs) vs. Simon Brown (41-2, 30 KOs)

Odds: even (11/10 and take your pick)

160 pounds: Gerald McClellan (30-2, 28 KOs) vs. Julian Jackson (48-2, 45 KOs)

Odds: McClellan 7/2 (minus-350)

130 pounds: Azumah Nelson (37-2-2, 26 KOs) vs. Jesse James Leija (27-0-2, 13 KOs)

Odds: Nelson 17/10 (minus-170)

105 pounds: Ricardo Lopez (36-0, 27 KOs) vs. Kermin Guardia (21-0, 14 KOs)

Odds: none

Results

Chavez-Randall — Julio Cesar Chavez avenged his loss to Frankie Randall, but not without controversy. An accidental clash of heads in the eighth round left Chavez with a bad gash on his forehead. Ring physician Flip Homansky would have allowed the bout to continue if that had been Chavez’s preference, but El Gran Campeon wasn’t so inclined. A WBC rule specified that in the event of a significant injury accruing from an accidental head butt, the less-damaged fighter is penalized a point. The fight went to the scorecards where Chavez won a split decision that would have been a draw without the point deduction. The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Chavez, but the big bets were mostly on Randall and the odds got nicked down on the day of the fight.

Brown-Norris — In their first meeting in December of the previous year, Simon Brown dominated Terry Norris from the opening bell before stopping him in the fourth round. It was a massive upset. Norris was in the conversation for the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. In the rematch, Norris opened a slight favorite, but the late money was on Brown. And, once again, the so-called “sharps” were on the wrong side. Terry Norris, the would-be avenger, won a comfortable decision.

McClellan-Jackson — A murderous puncher, Gerald McClellan bombed out Julian Jackson in 83 seconds, or four rounds quicker than in their first engagement. Jackson was also a murderous puncher and attracted money in the sports books, lowering the price on the victorious McClellan who yet remained a solid favorite.

Nelson-Leija – WBC President Jose Sulaiman mandated this rematch after the first meeting ended in a draw after an error was found in the tabulation of one of the scorecards, overturning the original verdict which had Nelson retaining his title on a split decision. Leija thought he was robbed and was the rightful winner in the do-over, outworking Nelson to win a unanimous decision. At age 35, Azumah was getting long in the tooth.

Lopez-Guardia – Before the digital age, bookmakers didn’t trifle to post lines on bouts that on paper were egregious mismatches, save perhaps a fight of great magnitude. Guardia, the Colombian challenger, overachieved by lasting the distance in a fight with no knockdowns, but “Finito” won a lopsided decision.

A Note on Odds

Betting lines serve a useful purpose for boxing historians; they quantify the magnitude of an upset. However, quoting odds is tricky because they are fluid and vary somewhat from place to place. What this means is that two journalists can quote different odds on the same event and they both can get it right – unless there is a significant disparity. The odds quoted above are the closing lines at the MGM Grand or, at the very least, a very close approximation.

Saturday in Riyadh

One reason why tomorrow’s fight card is the best ever, said the tub-thumpers, is that the card (in its original conformation) included seven world title fights. But that’s no big deal There are so many title fights nowadays that the term “world title” has been trivialized. And what wasn’t acknowledged is that three of the title fights were of the “interim” stripe.

However – and this is a big deal — a glance at the odds informs us that tomorrow’s card is chock-full of competitive match-ups (at least on paper) and from that aspect, a blend of quality and quantity, it is a doozy of a boxing card.

The greatest boxing linemaker of my generation, now deceased, once told me that any fight where the “chalk” was less than a 3/1 favorite is essentially a “pick-‘em” fight. Yes, I know that makes no sense mathematically. However, I know what he was getting at. In a baseball game, for example, it’s very rare to find a team favored by odds of more than 3/1. In boxing, where self-serving promoters are constantly feeding us King Kong vs. Mickey Mouse, odds higher than 3/1 are the norm.

As this is being written, there are six fights on Saturday’s card where one could play the favorite without laying more than 3/1. I believe this is unprecedented. Moreover, the main event and a fascinating match-up on the undercard, Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov, are virtual toss-ups with the favorites, Beterbiev and Ortiz, currently available at 5/4 (minus-125). Another very intriguing fight is the heavyweight contest between late bloomers Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang which finds the less-heralded Kabayel cloaked as a small favorite. And kudos to Joseph Parker for accepting Martin Bakole when he could have held out for a lesser opponent. If Bakole is in shape (a big “if”), he will be a handful.

And so, where does tomorrow’s card rank on the list of best boxing cards ever? Right up there near the top, we would argue, and, if the bouts in large part are memorably entertaining, we would push it ahead of Don King’s May 7, 1994 extravaganza.

That’s the view from here. Feel free to dissent.

Postscript: If you plan to watch the entire card ($25.99 on DAZN for U.S. buyers), it would help to stock up on some munchies. The first fight (Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith) is scheduled to kick off at 8:45 a.m. for us viewers in the Pacific Time Zone / 11:45 a.m. ET. If the show adheres tight to its schedule (no guarantee), Beterbiev and Bivol are expected to enter the ring at 3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET.

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