Well, Deontay Wilder is back. Back to business putting guys on their back. Last night, in his first fight in a full year, the former WBC heavyweight champ laid out Robert Helenius quickly, in doing so scoring himself a 20th first-round KO win. Wilder’s power-packed right hand – for some THE most lethal weapon in boxing – put the tall Finn down and out. Helenius, 31-4(20) remained down for some time.
Some fans and experts may have been a little concerned over the way Wilder came in at a pretty light weight at 214 pounds, this to Helenius’ 253, yet there was zero need for concern. Wilder, now 43-2-1(42) also kept intact his record for having dropped or stopped every single man he has shared a ring with. So the power is still there, we know that, but what next? Wilder was hoping Oleksandr Usyk would be in the house last night at Barclays Centre, but he was a no-show (having far more serious issues to deal with and to attend to in his war-torn homeland).
Wilder suggested post-fight that his chilling KO job on his former sparring partner might have scared Usyk – and a bunch of other fighters – away. Wilder said he wants Usyk or Andy Ruiz next, adding that he is “ready.” Wilder said he sparred 700 rounds to get ready for last night’s comeback fight. The fight was of the short and sweet variety of course, but we saw no ill effects from the three Tyson Fury wars; with Wilder looking back to his seek and destroy best.
We fans cannot wait for the next fight on Wilder’s comeback campaign. Can Wilder become a two-time champ? With the kind of scary, it’s-never-going-away punching power the 37 year old carries, only a fool would bet against it.
Wilder got quite emotional at the post-fight presser, reminding us about the dangers of boxing.
“My heart goes out to him and I hope he’s doing okay and he’ll be able to go back to his family,” Wilder said of Helenius. “People always go on about records and all this. They said, ‘Oh, he lost, oh, he’s a bum.’ Well, you get your bum ass in there then. Yeah it’s a great knockout, it’s devastating but how much is that man gonna suffer? And we’ve seen what happened. Look at Colon, Prichard Colon (who suffered a terrible brain injury in a 2015 fight). This man didn’t have no kids. Y’all don’t f*****g understand what we go through, man.”
Wilder, who was tearful when speaking, reminded us not only of the dangers of boxing, but also of how he himself can change personalities. In the ring, Wilder is, as he says himself, “The Bronze Bomber,” his alter-ego focused on destruction and nothing else. While outside the ring, Wilder is a caring family man. Say what you want about Wilder, but he has without a doubt added plenty to his sport.
It was great to see him back.
