A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Just one punch for Deontay Wilder to reassert himself is a devastating consequence.
His comeback fight against Robert Helenius lasted less than three minutes as Wilder was chopped down doing what Wilder does, connecting on a short right hand – the third punch and he finally landed – that put your opponent to sleep Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
That’s right, a rejuvenated Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) is back to destroy the big, bad men with arguably the hardest punch in the sport’s history. As they say, strength is the last thing to go. And Wilder’s power is clearly going nowhere.
That’s not to say we’ve forgotten about his two devastating head-to-head defeats at the hands of arch-enemy Tyson Fury in 2020 and last year’s first one that cost him the WBC title.
Wilder just reminds us by dodging a solid opponent in Helenius (31-4, 20 KOs) that he remains a threat to anyone because of his strength in his right hand and ability to serve. his, including the Oleksandr Usyk triple belt.
So what’s next? That’s hard to say.
Usyk, who won his belt by annoying Joshua and then defeated him again in their rematch, has expressed interest in going up against Wilder. However, I imagine his top priority remains the duel with Fury for the undisputed championship.
Wilder, who wants to fight for three more years, doesn’t seem interested in anyone. He just wanted the big fights, probably because he knew a shot at another world title would come sooner rather than later.
That could include Usyk if he can’t fight Fury. My personal favorite is a meeting with former unified champion Anthony Joshua, who also has crippling powers. And Andy Ruiz Jr, Joe Joyce and Frank Sanchez are also among other interesting possibilities.
The only thing we know for sure is that Wilder has our attention again. Whoever he faces next, a lot of people will be watching to await another spectacular knockout.
“Deontay Wilder is back,” he said shortly after Saturday’s win. “The excitement in the weight class is back. There is no heavyweight without Deontay Wilder. That is a fact “.
BAD
There was nothing bad about the performance of undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney on Saturday in Australia, where he outperforming George Kambosos Jr. for the second time on the way to unanimous decisive victory.
This entry is being submitted as “bad” because I’m not sure if the rematch should happen.
I understand the concept of a rematch clause, one of which was included in the contract Haney signed before leaving Kambosos in June. Haney did the right thing by honoring her agreement.
However, there is no benefit from a boxing point of view. The war is a waste of time and energy, aside from any money it generates.
Haney won with scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 in the first game, which also went under. I scored it 119-109, 11 innings. So I don’t know what the 116-112 referees watched.
On Saturday (Sunday in Australia), Haney was even more dominant, winning 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110. Boxing Junkie also scored in the second match 119-109.
Kambosos never gives up. He simply doesn’t have the tools to compete with a thoroughbred like Haney, who, at 23, must be considered among the 20 heaviest boxers in the world.
That was evident in the first fight which, again, made the second one unnecessary.
Now the real challenge for Haney. The most attractive potential opponents are Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko, two talented, experienced super boxers who will be making super fights with Haney.
Only when such battles come to fruition will we truly know how good Haney is. Memories of the Kambosos – as impressive as they are – only tell us so much.
WORSE
Robert Helenius doesn’t know what hit him. Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images
The fate of Helenius is an example of how devastating boxing can be.
The 38-year-old Finn rolled around in an unfortunate encounter with Wilder, knocking out once-promising heavyweight Adam Kownacki in head-to-head matches to regain his status as a title contender. legal.
And he’s in a good place both physically and mentally. He was 100% healthy for the first time in years, he had a great training camp, he was really confident… and then he passed out.
The sight of him lying on the tarp, staring blankly at the rafters at Barclays Center, would have been difficult to see under any circumstances. The fact that he had his country’s hopes of becoming the first heavyweight champion scuttled in such a violent style made it all the worse.
This is your right. One minute you are in a difficult situation, the next you are forced to make difficult decisions.
Helenius is not archaic by heavyweight standards. And it wasn’t as if he was hitting a protracted fight against Wilder, who landed only three punches, according to CompuBox. He can keep fighting if that’s what he wants.
At the same time, it took him years of grueling, painful work in the gym and ring to get back into the title race. Would he want to go through that process again when he reaches 40?
I guess the answer to that question is no. We may have seen the last Robert Helenius in the ring.
BAGS DOLL
Claressa Shields continues to play her role in raising women’s boxing to the next level. She and Savannah Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) had a great all-women showdown on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) deserved a unanimous decision win to become the undisputed 160-pound champion – she’s dropped cleaner punches – but the fight is hot and compete throughout, it’s a credit to both women. Marshall should be proud of her performance. Are Shields a GWOAT? I still apply that label to the Hall of Famer Lucia Rijker, you have to meet someone to understand how good she is. Shields is definitely one of the best two or three right now and no woman is more important than her in terms of what she does in women’s boxing. … Who knows? Caleb . Factory (22-1, 13 KOs) has earned a reputation as an outstanding boxer and athlete, which has helped him top the 168-pound category. He showed us something new against Anthony Dirrell (34-3-2, 25 KO) on Wilder-Helenius card, a knockout one punch of an elite opponent. He won a tough match over eight plus innings when he connected on a left hook (almost an upper) that instantly knocked Dirrell out in Round 9. It was a much-needed statement. after his knockout loss first Canelo Alvarez in the May. Plant is now ready to have a big fight against things like David Benavidez and Jermall Charlo. … I understand that he and Dirrell have created real bad blood between them but I don’t like his behavior after the inactivity, continuous grave digging process. Dirrell was still struggling to get up at the time. I’ll analyze Plant’s actions up to adrenaline… and hope he doesn’t behave like that anymore. … Alycia Baumgardner (13-1, 7 KOs) defeated Mikaela Mayer (17-1.5 KO) by a split decision in a 10-round match to unify three 130-pound titles in a breakout victory for her on the Shields-Marshall card. The scores are 96-95, 96-95 and 93-97. I scored it 95-95, a draw. Baumgardner seems to have said afterwards that she was not interested in a second fight with the former owner. Mayer probably got one.
