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What Does the Future Hold for Deontay Wilder?

With only three punches, the American giant Deontay Wilder showed that he is not yet finished in boxing. With a bit of luck, he will be able to fulfill his prophecy and remain active for another three years in the sport.
On October 15th, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, he stayed true to what he knows how to do best, which is to punch with tremendous power. âThe Bronze Bomberâ (43-2-1, 42 KOs) anesthetized the Finn, Robert Helenius (31-4-0, 20 KOs), in the first round.
It was an early gift for Wilder, born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who will turn 37 next Saturday, October 22. And he did it in a big way, following two consecutive losses against Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) in 2020 and 2021, both by way of knockout. Their first matchup in 2018 resulted in a draw.
In this elimination fight at Barclays Center, Wilder started off slippery, constantly moving around the ring. He seemed to shy away from exchanges, in obvious respect for the European’s punch. But in the final stages of the first round, Wilder took advantage of the fact that Helenius had lowered his protective left hand and then launched a right hand bomb, which embedded itself in the middle his opponentâs face.
Consequently, Helenius fell on his back like a heavy burden, with a lost look and completely knocked out. After sending Wilder into a neutral corner, referee Michael Griffin ruled Helenious out of action with just three seconds left in the round. At the end of the fight, Wilder said that Robert has the heart of a champion, and knowing what he was capable of, Wilder claims he didnât take him lightly. âI set him up,â said Wilder. âI allowed him to reach and when he reached, I attacked. It was a great fightâ.
Wilder noted that he had a good camp, in which he sparred more than 700 rounds. He said that he and his support team had worked to make the preparation fun. In his previous fight, last October, Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) lost by way of knockout in the eleventh round against British behemoth Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas, in the third fight between the two.
Two years earlier, Fury snatched the WBC belt from Wilder by a spectacular seventh-round knockout at the MGM Grand Grand in Las Vegas where Wilder was making his tenth defense of the WBC belt.
Wilder said that after the second loss, he walked away from boxing completely and didn’t even watch other fights for a long time. During this period, he hinted that perhaps the third fight against Fury was the last of his professional career.
But as time heals all wounds, even mental ones, a few months ago Wilder opened the doors to possibly fighting again. On February 25, there was a glimpse of a ray of hope. During the inauguration of a full-size statue that was unveiled in his honor in his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Wilder said that he would continue his journey.
While still in the ring at Barclays Center, Wilder responded to a question saying, “I’ve been hearing rumors about Oleksandr Usyk, but he’s not here, is he? When guys see these knockouts, they turn the corner away from me.” He continued, “I’m ready for whatever. Whether it’s Andy Ruiz or Usyk. I’m ready. Deontay is back, and the excitement in the heavyweight division is back.”
Located at the top of the WBC rankings, and now with that victory in the elimination fight, Wilder is ratified as a possible mandatory rival of the British Fury, who currently holds the WBC belt of that body, which he took from Wilder in February 2020.
In dialogue with ESPN, Fury stated that his adversary will not be his English countryman Anthony Joshua, whom he has hurled countless insults at. He will not collide with Usyk for the rest of the year, nor will he face off with Mahmoud Charr, the Lebanese based in Germany whom he initially courted on social networks and later eliminated from the list.
The âGypsy Kingâ hinted a few days ago that his immediate opponent could be Derek âWarâ Chisora (33-12-0, 23 KOs), but said that the contract hadnât yet been signed. However, London promoter Frank Warren, of the Queensberry Promotions company, who guides Fury’s promotional work, revealed in great detail that Fury will face Chisora for the third time, in December.
Warren told iFL.tv that after negotiations with Joshuaâs group had broken down, they started looking for an opponent for Fury. And now they are planning for him to fight Chisora in December, as he is the highest ranked opponent.
FURY HAS TWO WINS AGAINST CHISORA
Although Fury and Warren praise Chisora, he is not really a rival that meets the expectations of the fans, like Joshua or Usyk, especially since with the latter, four titles would have been at stake.
Chisora, 38, born in the city of Mbare, Zimbabwe and currently living in Finchley, London, was victorious over Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev by split decision, on July 9, in the 02 Arena, Greenwich, England. Prior to that, he suffered three consecutive failures, two of them last year against New Zealander Joseph Parker, and the other against Usyk, in 2020.
Chisora faced Fury on two occasions. In their first meeting on July 23, 2011, which had the British heavyweight title as an incentive, the African fell by unanimous decision.
Three years later, on November 29, 2014, Chisora again succumbed to Fury. The fight took place in London, where they fought for the British, European and WBO belts. This time Chisoraâs corner threw in the towel at the end of the tenth round, preventing the beating from continuing.
Article submitted by Jorge Juan Alvarez in Spanish.
Please note any adjustments made were for clarification purposes and any errors in translation were unintentional.
Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp / SHOWTIME
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Alexis Rocha KOs Brave but Overmatched George Ashie on DAZN.

Golden Boy Promotionsâ potted their first offering of 2023 at the recently opened YouTube Theater, a 6,000-seat venue situated inside the stadium built to house LAâs two NFL franchises. The main event was a scheduled 12-round welterweight match between Alexis Rocha, a southpaw from nearby Santa Ana and George Ashie, a 38-year-old Ghanaian making his U.S. debut. Ashie was a late substitute for Anthony Young who reportedly suffered a nose injury in training. The match and supporting bouts were live-streamed on DAZN.
Ashie, who was fighting above his normal weight class and carried a career-high 146 pounds, was brave but out-gunned. Rocha knocked him down in the third frame with a right hook and hurt him several more times as the fight progressed although Ashie never stopped trying. In round six, an accidental clash of heads left Rocha with a nasty cut on his left eyebrow. He fought with more urgency after this incident and knocked Ashie out cold in the next round. The official time was 2:08 of round seven.
It was the fifth straight win for Rocha who improved his ledger to 22-1 (14 KOs). After the bout, he expressed an interest in fighting Terence Crawford. Ashie fell to 33-6-1 (25).
Other Bouts of Note
Floyd âAustin Kidâ Schofield, a precocious 20-year-old lightweight, had Albert Mercado on the canvas in the second round but was unable to put him away despite hurting him multiple times and went 10 rounds for the first time in his young career.
Schofield, the 2022 TSS Prospect of the Year, improved to 13-0 (11), winning 100-89 on all three cards. Mercado, a 35-year-old Connecticut-born Puerto Rican, declined to 17-5-1 but retained his distinction of having never stopped.
Super middleweight Bektemir Melikuziev, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist for Uzbekistan who lives and trains in Indio, California, overpowered San Diegoâs Ulises Sierra who was on the deck twice from body punches before the fight was waived off at the 2:59 mark of round three. It was the fourth straight victory for Melikuziev (11-1, 9 KOs) after suffering a stunning one-punch knockout at the hands of seemingly shopworn Gabriel Rosado with whom he is pursuing a rematch. Sierra was 17-2-2 heading in with eight of his wins coming in Mexico.
In a match framed as a WBO minimumweight title eliminator, Oscar Collazo (6-0, 4 KOs) scored an impressive fifth-round stoppage of Yudel Reyes. Collazo knocked Reyes down twice in the fifth round, the second with a vicious right hand that put Reyes down so hard that the referee didnât bother to count. The official time was 2:59 of round five.
In theory, Collazoâs next fight will come against the Filipino Melvin Jerusalem who won the title earlier this month with a second-round stoppage of Masataka Taniguchi in Osaka. Reyes, a 26-year-old Mexican making his U.S. debut, declined to 15-2.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Artur Beterbiev TKOs Anthony Yarde in a London Firefight

The presumption, echoed by ESPN boxing commentator Bernardo Osuna, was that tonightâs bout at Wembley Arena in London between Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde would be explosive and entertaining for as long as it lasted. That proved to be true and when the smoke cleared, Beterbiev, the rugged Montreal-based Russian had retained his three light heavyweight title belts and had added another knockout to his ledger, his nineteenth as a pro in as many opportunities.
Both men landed hard shots during the fight and both were marked up at the finish. Yarde had a cut under his right eye and Beterbiev had a cut on his left eyelid.
A chopping right hand from Beterbiev late in the first minute of the eighth round marked the beginning of the end for Yarde, the muscular 31-year-old Londoner who entered the contest sporting a record of 23-2 with 22 knockouts. The punch sent him reeling backward toward his corner where he landed on his knees. He beat the count, but turned toward his corner rather than referee Steve Gray.
Gray let the bout continue, but Beterbiev pressed his advantage and after a few more unanswered punches Yardeâs trainer Tunde Ajayi stepped up on the ring apron and summoned Gray to stop it. The official time was 2:01 of round eight.
Beterbiev hasnât lost since losing a decision to amateur nemesis Oleksandr Usyk in the quarter finals of the 2012 London Olympics. At age 38, he shows no signs of slowing down.
In his post-fight interview, the self-effacing Russian said, âI hope some day I will be a good boxer,â and acknowledged that he would welcome a unification fight with fellow Russian Dmitry Bivol, the WBA title-holder.
WBA Title Fight
In a bout that was in theory the co-feature but went off during the earlier portion of the ESPN+ livestream, Artem Dalakian (21-0, 15 KOs) retained his WBA world flyweight title with a unanimous and somewhat controversial 12-round unanimous decision over Costa Ricaâs David Jimenez (12-1). The judges had it 116-112 and 115-113 twice.
An Azerbaijan-born Ukrainian, Dalakian was making the sixth defense of the title he won in 2018 with a 12-round decision over Brian Viloria in Los Angeles in his lone previous appearance at a venue in the English-speaking world. His five title defenses were in Kiev. Jimenez was coming off a 12-round majority decision over Ricardo Sandoval in what ranked as one of the bigger upsets of 2021.
A Split for the Itauma Brothers
Promoter Frank Warrenâs newest signee, 18-year-old heavyweight Moses Itauma, made a big splash in his pro debut, blasting out Czechoslovakiaâs Marcel Bode (2-2) in 23 seconds. Moses and his older brother Karol Itauma are sons of a British citizen of Nigerian ancestry and a Slovakian mother.
In a shocking upset, Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna, a 36-year-old Argentine who had lost six of his previous eight fights, forged a fifth-round stoppage of well-touted Karol Itauma who was 9-0 (7 KOs) as a pro coming in. Itauma ate numerous straight right hands before a straight right hand knocked him down for the count. The official time was 1:04 of round five. Maderna improved to 29-10 (11).
Also
The Frankham cousins, super welterweight Joshua and super featherweight Charles, improved their ledgers to 7-0 with 6-round shutouts over their respective opponents. The cousins are grandsons of John âGypsy Johnnyâ Frankham, a former British light heavyweight champion.
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Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury on Feb. 26 in a Potential Pay-Per-View Blockbuster

Itâs now official. The twice-postponed âgrudge matchâ between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will come to fruition on Sunday, Feb. 26, at Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. An 8-rounder contested at a catch-weight of 185 pounds, the match and several supporting bouts will air in the U.S. on ESPN+ PPV at a cost of $49.99.
The hook for this promotion â a come-hither that will be hammered home incessantly in the coming weeks – is that Jake Paul will finally touch gloves with a legitimate professional boxer. Paulâs previous opponents were a fellow YouTube influencer (AnEsonGib), a retired NBA player (Nate Robinson), and three former MMA champions: Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva. He fought Woodley twice.
Tommy Fury, the half-brother of reigning WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, made his pro debut in December of 2018 in a four-round bout in his hometown of Manchester. He was two fights into his pro career when he became a contestant on the TV reality show âLove Island.â An enormously popular show in Great Britain, especially among the coveted 18-34 demographic, âLove Islandâ was in its fifth season.
Fury was paired with supermodel Molly-Mae Hague with whom he finished second. They developed a great chemistry, on and off the set, became engaged, and purportedly welcomed a baby girl this week.
What about Tommy Fury the boxer? How legitimate is he?
Furyâs record currently stands at 8-0 (4 KOs). His first opponent was a professional loser from Latvia whose current ledger reads 10-113-3. His next six opponents were a combined 4-73-2. Finally, in his last fight, which occurred in April of last year, he met an opponent with a good record, Polandâs Daniel Bocianski, who was 10-1. But look closer and one discovers that all but one of Bocianskiâs 10 triumphs came against opponents with losing records. The exception was a 6-round decision over a fellow Pole whose record currently stands at 18-16-1 and who has been stopped 13 times.
Fury bloodied Bocianski and won a wide 6-round decision, but his performance was underwhelming. âFury had the Hollywood teeth, tan, and diamante-colored shorts,â wrote Chasinga Malata of the London Sun, âleaving only his performance without sheen and sparkle.â
There is nothing in Tommy Furyâs background, aside from his biological pedigree, to suggest that he has the tools to become a world-class boxer. If he were a member of the Three Stooges, he would be Shemp.
Jake Paul, by contrast, may actually be legit. Those in the know that have watched him train have come away impressed. It says here that Paul isnât moving up in class on Feb. 26; itâs the other way around.
In the co-feature, Ilunga Makabu (29-2, 25 KOs) will make the third defense of his WBC world cruiserweight title against Badou Jack (27-3-3, 16 KOs). A Congolese-South African, Makabu is the older brother of heavyweight contender Martin Bakole. Jack, four years older than Makabu at age 39, formerly held world titles at 168 and 175 pounds.
Although Badou Jack was born in Sweden and keeps a home in Las Vegas where he has long been affiliated with the Mayweather Boxing Club, he will have the home field advantage in Saudi Arabia where he has cultivated a loyal following. A devout Muslim, Jack will be making his fourth straight start in the Persian Gulf Region. In his last outing, he outpointed Richard âPopeyeâ Rivera at Jeddah, winning a 10-round split decision.

Badou Jack
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