U.S. Olympic Bronze Medalist Deontay Wilder (29-0, 29 KOs) has been completely written off by some and praised as if he is the new Muhammad Ali by others, as you might know, this weekend he is scheduled to fight yet another out matched opponent, Nicolai Firtha (21-10, 8 KOs). Considering that this is his 30th fight and he still hasn’t fought anyone of significance, it is easy to remain skeptical. There are many reasons why he could be a hype job and many reasons why he might not be. Whatever side you are on, here are some things to consider.
First of all, the question why Deontay wilder hasn’t gotten any fights against tough opposition may not be as black and white as people think. It seems as though major consensus is that his promoters simply don’t want him to fight anyone of skill, in fear that he will loose and no longer produce cash, but it is also entirely possible that fighters who are trying to work towards a title shot do not want to risk fighting him.
#3 WBC, #7 WBA, Deontay Wilder (29-0, 29 KO’s) will be looking to stay in the hunt for a world title shot by staying busy tonight in a 10 round scheduled bout against Nicolai Firtha (21-10, 8 KO’s) at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Wilder will likely be facing one of the top contenders such as Bermane Stiverne or Chris Arreola in early 2014 and then fighting for a world title soon after that. Deontay actually sees himself getting a title shot by the early to the middle point of next year.
33-year-old Arthur Abraham (37-4, 28 KO’s) will be taking part tonight against little known fringe contender Giovanni De Carolis (20-4, 10 KO’s) in a scheduled 12 round bout at the EWE-Arena, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany. This is a warm-up bout for Abraham to get him ready for his third fight against WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz in 2014.
On Saturday afternoon November 23rd, boxing fans will get an early holiday gift as one of most anticipated All-English bouts in a long time will take place as IBF/WBA Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch defends his crown against undefeated George Groves.
It’s not really question of whether IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KO’s) will beat his little known German based opponent Karo Murat (25-1-1, 15 KO’s) tonight in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The only question is whether the 48-year-old Hopkins will look sensational in stopping him or as boring as he’s looked in many of his fights over the years.
It took Alexander Povetkin many years to finally earn and secure a bout against Wladimir Klitschko. The hype as well as the amount of money spent on marketing was colossal, and Moscow was breaking at the seams with enthusiasm of what the fight could have brought. As a matter of fact, there hasn’t been a thrilling heavyweight boxing match in an extensive period of time, and this one, Klitschko vs. Povetkin, was supposed to be it.
It took Gabriel Rosado (21-6, 13 KO’s) nine months to speak up but he’s now saying that he’s suspicious about the gloves that WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (27-0, 24 KO’s) used when he stopped him in the 7th round last January in Madison Square Garden, New York. Rosado, 27, says that he noticed that there was little padding around the knuckle portion of the gloves compared to his own, according to RingTV, and that has Rosado wondering what’s up.
Two ageing heavyweights who really should be happily enjoying retirement will meet in Russia on November 4th. R-Sport reports how Oleg Maskaev, the former WBC heavyweight champion, will face Britain’s Danny Williams in Krasnodar, Russia. 44-year-old Maskaev, 38-7(28) was to have faced Corey Sanders in a rematch of a 2002 meeting which was won by Sanders via 8th-round TKO, but Sanders was unable to get a visa to travel to Russia. 40-year-old Williams, who has a 44-18(33) record (having lost his last eight outings, half by stoppage) was available and has been brought in at short notice.
Brandon Rios is picking #2 WBA to defeat WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-0, 22 KO’s) in their pay-per-view fight on Showtime on December 14th at the MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Rios thinks that Broner isn’t unhittable like Floyd Mayweather Jr., and he likes the power that Maidana has after sparring 10 rounds with him. Rios says the sparring with Maidana was pretty brutal.
#2 IBF contender Karo Murat (25-1-1, 15 KO’s) isn’t beating around the bushes for what he plans on doing against the soon to be 49-year-old Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KO’s) in their fight this Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.