Reigning WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder had originally been slated to square off against highly regarded contender Alexander Povetkin back on May 21. The fight. However, wound up being postponed by the WBC after Povetkin had reportedly tested positive for a substance known as meldonium – a recently banned substance added to the ever growing list of illegal performance enhancers.
Those fans who want to see one fighter universally accepted as THE light-heavyweight champion of the world (and what boxing fan doesn’t want this!) might have reason to feel optimistic over what WBC 175-pound king Adonis Stevenson said today. Speaking on a media call to hype his upcoming July 29 defence against the once-beaten (and possibly very dangerous) Thomas Williams Junior, Stevenson – as picked up by RingTV.com – said yes, he would very much like to face the winner of the big Sergey Kovalev-Andre Ward clash set for November.
Many people who know boxing say it’s a crazy sport and how the competitors involved have to be at least part crazy to want to fight, to take punches, to sacrifice so much, for the means of making a living. Maybe boxing fans, or a good deal of them, are also crazy. Just this past weekend, we saw two top class fighters going into battle against the elite of their respective division, this whilst being considerable underdogs themselves. The two fighting men in question being Chris Arreola, who was as game as they come against WBC heavyweight ruler Deontay Wilder, and super-bantamweight “Jazza” Dickens, who tried his best again WBA king and pound-for-pounder Gulliermo Rigondeaux.
Welshman Liam Williams (15-0-1) produced a dramatic 11th round stoppage of Londoner Gary Corcoran (15-1) to retain his British and Commonwealth super-welterweight belts.
The pre-fight animosity between the pair resulted in an enthralling contest that swung back and forth, but Williams’ vocal support were eventually rewarded after an emphatically-delivered right hand in the penultimate round that signalled the beginning of the end for the valiant Corcoran.
One of the problems a monstrous puncher can face is hand injury. WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder was in great pain both during and after his dominant win over a tough and game Chris Arreola, due to breaking his right hand on the Mexican/American’s rock of a head, and because of the tear to his biceps he also suffered during the 8th-round corner retirement win.
Bideford-born Langford (17-0) retained his WBO Inter-Continental middleweight belt by defeating former Finnish national champion Timo Laine (15-7) in round seven of their scheduled 10-round title fight at the Ice Arena in Cardiff on Saturday 16th July.
A late replacement opponent stepping in for former German national champion Ronny Gabel, Laine was completely outclassed, outworked, outboxed and outfoxed for the entire 19 ½ minutes, despite entering the contest off the back of an outstanding five-fight winning streak, four of those ending inside the distance.
Deontay Wilder and Chris Arreola were not the only big men fighting last night, there were two young (ish) and unbeaten heavyweights in action also. On the card in Alabama, Gerald Washington went to 18-0-1(12) with a 4th-round KO over veteran Ray Austin, 29-8-4(18). While in Detroit, Michigan, 26-year-old Andy Ruiz Junior stopped another veteran in Josh Gormley, via 3rd-round TKO. Ruiz is now 28-0(19), Gormley, who was having just his fourth fight since 1999, falls to 22-5(21) and the 42-year-old’s comeback looks to be over.
WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder came out of last night’s fight with Chris Arreola with a number of things: a win, his fourth title retention, respect for an Arreola who was “as tough as I always thought he was going to be,” and, perhaps most seriously, a broken right hand and an injured bicep. Wilder, who improved to 37-0(36) with the 8th-round corner retirement win over a game and at times crazily tough Arreola, must now see a specialist, before he will know how soon he can fight again.
It’s been an interesting 18 months for Polish heavyweight contender Izu Ugonoh. After moving to Las Vegas and hooking up with veteran trainer Kevin Barry, Ugonoh found his career tracking in the right direction with a busy schedule in 2015 that saw him own a highlight reel KO over Will Quarrie accompanied by a steady rise to number 15 in the WBO rankings.
Just at the point of launching into the next tier of higher ranked heavyweight opponents Izu, whose sporting profile was now growing steadily in his native Poland, was offered an opportunity to appear on their version of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ With the potential to exponentially grow his fan base and popularity in Poland being too good to pass up,Izustarted the year by trading in his boxing gloves for dancing shoes.
(Photo credit: Ryan Hafey/Jordan Hardy/Premier Boxing Champions) BIRMINGHAM, AL (July 16, 2016) – Undefeated heavyweight world champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) finished three-time world title challenger Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (36-5-1, 31 KOs) after the eighth round of the main event of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on FOX and FOX Deportes from Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama.