However the presence of John David Jackson in the unbeaten Russian’s corner should certainly act as a buffer.
A globetrotting two time-two weight world champion in the late 80s and early 90s, the Denver born, Florida based southpaw is now one of the most coveted coaches in the US. His client list includes world champions such as Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, Randall Bailey and Nate Campbell and recently ‘Action’ Jackson was recruited as head trainer at Mike Tyson’s Iron Mike Productions.
Art N. (Los Angeles, CA): On your Facebook page you spoke about Deontay Wilder and how KO artist should perhaps not get so much early praise. Do you think he has a shot to be the next best American Heavyweight?
Vivek W. (ESB): Deontay Wilder has become a hot topic! How hot? On Yahoo! this weekend he was ranked #7 on the global trending report. As interesting as that may be, my point in the FaceBook post was that I approach him like I do any other heavy handed puncher in the sport. I enjoy the KO’s and the process of seeing the fighter rack them up! But when the rubber hits the road, it all comes down to whether or not that puncher has the ability to deal with an opponent who has the power to hurt them, the stamina to outwork them, and chin to outlast them. That’s when it all gets “real” inside the ring! Many of you who followed the fight game before Tyson went wild and Pacquiao brought “good guy” back in style know full well that power without those other elements mean very little.
After the Zab Judah loss to Danny Garcia in April, the Brooklyn product received much praise for his efforts. Judah battled back from two knockdowns to come on strong late, while the much younger Garcia faded. There is however one person who isn’t so impressed with Judah’s performance that night.
His father and former trainer Yoel Judah.
“I thought Zab should’ve won the fight, I really thought Zab should’ve knocked Garcia out,” Judah said. “That’s what he should’ve did. All this talk that he came close and he looked good, he knows I’m not going for none of that.”
Hey fight fans take note local boxing is back in the Miami area. Al Bonanni’s-Tiburon Promotions presented it’s third local show at Casino Miami Jai-Alai. 1,500 fight fans turned out to support their local fighters on the card, the most popular being Jessy Cruz, Azea Augustama, and Ahmed Elbiali.
There were only 5 fights on the card prepared by matchmaker Rick Fisler. A good thing as fans did’nt get bored with too many fights and a feeling of a long never ending show, that sometimes happens when you put 7-9 fights on a card.
New Zealand based heavyweight David Tua (52-4-2) will make a call on his injured calf. That call is expected today and will be aided by an expert medical assessment that will determine whether his August 31st bout with Alexander Ustinov (28-1-0) goes ahead.
Ustinov when informed of the news was nonchalant, taking the news well in accepting injuries and boxing go hand in hand and there is little he can do about an injury to an opponent.
David Higgins of Duco the events promoters was equally as pragmatic in stating ‘if David Tua needs time to heal, then we will postpone the fight for, at the most, four weeks from the original fight date”
If America is the land of opportunity, Ronald Gavril has seized his big chance with both hands. Born in Bacau Romania ‘The Thrill’ is now an exciting young prospect fighting out of Las Vegas. Ronald is the epitome of hard work, determination and hope. Since turning professional in 2011 the 27 year old talent has swept aside his first five opponents with his action packed aggressive style.
However the future of the promising super middleweight was once in doubt until his management made the brave decision to relocate to Las Vegas. Ronald’s profile immediately inflated as he put his impressive fighting ability on display in the gyms of Sin City.
In somewhat of an odd move, heavyweight Tyson Fury (21-0, 15 KO’s) will be using 37-year-old Steve Cunningham as one of his sparring partners to help him get ready for his September 28th fight against David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) at the Manchester Arena.
Fury defeated Cunningham last April in New York in a 7th round stoppage. Cunningham wasn’t too happy about the loss, because he felt that Fury had partially held him in place with a left hand while landing the knockout punch. There was no rematch to clear up the controversy, and now Fury has moved on to the Haye fight.
American Heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder took a step up in class last night in Indio, California in a single round destruction of fading heavyweight contender Siarhei Liakovich. In the aftermath of the impressive victory boxing media blew up with the question “Who should Wilder fight next,” and also where does Wilder rank among American heavyweights. In examing the current batch of American heavys I ,in no particular order, made a list of 5 fighters that Wilder could fight and also guys that are around him in the rankings of American Heavyweights.
5. Dominic Guinn – (34W(23 ko)- 10L-1D)
The 38year old veteran Guinn ,coming off a decision loss to Tomasz Adamek, is still a gatekeeper to the upper rankings of the Heavyweight division having been in some of the better fighters in the division over the years.
Which fighter has the best chance of bringing at least a slice of the heavyweight title back to America, the country that once all but owned the belts for decade after decade?
Last night, in utterly destroying the rusty yet experienced Serhei Liakhovich in one chilling round with one chilling right hand (if the former WBO champ’s face didn’t tell the story, his quivering limbs sure did!), unbeaten 27-year-old Deontay Wilder made some people believe in him and his title hopes a little more.
Wilder, 29-0(29) isn’t the finished article yet but his punching ability certainly is noteworthy. But is Wilder the best American heavyweight out there today?
Here are the best US big men on the scene right now:
In the 10-round main event, Russian sluger Rustam Nugaev continued to impress the boxing world with a spectacular performance against a game Jose Hernandez. Both fighters had their moments in the early rounds. Hernandez would land combinations in spurts as did Nugaev, but it was the Russian who did the most damage in the exchanges. In the fifth round, Rustam landed a solid temple shot, followed by a vicious body blow that put Hernandez down and out. Nugaev never backed up during the fight and the pressure was too much for Hernandez who gave a valiant effort in defeat. With the KO victory, Nugaev moves to (27-4, 15 KOs) as Hernandez drops to (14-7-1, 6 KOs). The bout was stopped the 1:38 mark of round 5.