Tag Archives: breazeale
By: William Holmes
Al Haymons’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) was broadcast live tonight from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and was televised live on the Showtime networks.
The main event of the night was a heavyweight showdown between current heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and challenger Dominic Breazeale.
The opening bout of the night was between Juan Heraldez (16-0) and Argenis Mendez (25-5-2) in the super lightweight division.
Mendez had many fights in the lightweight division and Heraldez spent most of his career fighting at 140 or 147lbs.
Heraldez was a highly touted prospect, but Mendez was a cagey veteran who presented a good challenge for Heraldez and was able to keep the fight at a slower pace early on.
Heraldez had a strong fifth round and was able to crack Mendez with some heavy shots in the middle of the round, but Mendez had his moments and landed a straight right hand that had blood coming from the nose of Heraldez.
Mendez was the one who pressed forward in the seventh round, but Heraldez showed good movement while circling away and appeared to be the slightly more accurate puncher.
Heraldez did have Mendez briefly trapped by the corner in the eighth, but appeared hesitant to really let loose and go for the knockdown.
Mendez had his moments in the ninth round, but Heraldez looked like he did enough to slightly win the later rounds.
A lot of rounds could have been sored for either fighter, but the judges scored it 97-93 for Mendez, and 95-95 on the other two scorecards.
The fight was ruled a majority draw.
The next bout of the night was between Gary Russell Jr. a (29-1) and Kiko Martinez (39-8-2) for the WBC Featherweight Title.
Russell was able to move in and out with ease in the opening two rounds and appeared to be able to pop shot Martinez at will. Russell’s combinations caused a mouse to form under the left eye of Martinez in the second.
Martinez was able to land some body shots in the third round, but Russell’s superior hand speed won him a majority of their exchanges. Russell turned up the power in the fourth round and forced a cut over Martinez’s eye to begin to bleed badly.
Russell’s jab was focused on the cut of Martinez’s eye in the fifth round and made it open up to a dangerous sized gash. The referee asked the ring side doctor to take a look at it, and he advised the referee to stop the fight.
Gary Russell Jr. wins by TKO at 2:52 of the fifth round.
The main event of the evening was between Deontay Wilder (40-0-1) and Dominic Breazeale (20-1) for the WBC Heavyweight Title.
Breazeale and Wilder were listed at identical heights but Wilder looked like he had a few inches on Breazeale at the referee introduction. Wilder looked extremely confident and gave Breazeale a death stare, who looked a little timid.
Wilder had a sharp jab early on and was able to connect with a two punch combination in the opening minute. A right hand form Wilder knocked Breazeale back a few steps who appeared to be stunned, but Breazeale landed two hard overhand rights that briefly stopped Wilder’s momentum.
Both fighters were in a clinch and Breazeale landed a few short punches before the referee separated them. Wilder than landed a booming right hand that sent Breazeale crashing to the mat.
Breazeale began to attempt to get up around the count of eight, but he was unable to get to his feet before ten and he was still badly hurt.
Deontay Wilder wins with a stunning knockout at of the 2:17 first round.
More Headlines
By: Hans Themistode
Heavyweight contender Dominic Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs) will be looking too pick up the biggest win of his career when he takes on WBC champion Deontay Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) at the Barclay Center this Saturday night.
Wilder, will be looking to defend his title for the ninth straight time. Breazeale faces a monumental task, but one that isn’t impossible. For as dominant as Wilder has been, he has shown a few weakness over the years. The odds are not in his favor but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a chance. To the contrary he has the skillset in order to get the job done. So how exactly will Breazeale get the job done? Keep reading to find out.
Use The Jab
Although Breazeale is coming into this contest with a slight two inch reach disadvantage, he still needs to employ the jab. Outside of his last contest against Tyson Fury, Wilder has always had a height advantage coming into his fights. Even with his freakish height and reach he still has issues using a steady jab. He also has a problem of getting repeatedly tagged with it as well. Throughout the career of Breazeale he has shown that he has one of the best jabs in the entire division. If Breazeale can find a home for his jab throughout the contest, it could mean bad news for Wilder.
Box Don’t Brawl
Breazeale has won his last three contests via stoppage. Even more impressive, he has stopped 18 of his 21 opponents in his career. Conventional thinking would lead you to believe that Breazeale should go for he knockout in this contest. Although he has been successful before, it would lead to an early night for the title contender. Wilder has been outboxed on numerous occasions. Tyson Fury, Luis Ortiz and Artur Szpilka to name a few have given the WBC champion issues. Breazeale doesn’t exactly have the skill that those men have but he can certainly hold his own. Breazeale shouldn’t be so quick to fight the sort of fight that his opponent wants him too. Instead he should employ a new tactic and box from the outside. It could very well lead him to victory.
Attack The Body
Too many times in boxing do we see fighters spend the duration of the contest head hunting. This is particularly true in the Heavyweight division. Wilder has shown that he can take a good shot on the chin. Going downstairs to the body could lead to a different result. For as good as Wilder is, he isn’t a big Heavyweight, attacking his midsection could slow him down. Head shots are always what the fans want to see but going down to the body, seems like the best strategy to take.
More Columns
By: Sean Crose
Deontay Wilder has raised eyebrows with recent comments he’s made regarding his Saturday bout with Dominic Breazeale. In the leadup to the scrap for the WBC heavyweight crown, defending champion Wilder has expressed murderous intent. Literally. “This is the only sport,” Wilder told reporters, “where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time. It’s legal. Why not use my right to do so?” Wilder also stated that: “I’m still trying to get a body on my record.” Whether Wilder was serious or simply trash talking before a televised bout (the fight will be aired live on Showtime from the Barclay’s Center) is unclear, though the Alabama native has been known from his hyperbole.
Hyperbolic or not, Wilder’s words have struck a chord with certain fans and journalists. While some claim Wilder doesn’t seriously wish to kill his opponent this weekend, others find the words Wilder uses dangerous, while still others find them to be inappropriate, regardless of whether Wilder is serious or not in his comments. Perhaps it all has to do with a need Wilder has to be recognized as a legitimate heavyweight champion – something he has struggled to do. “People won’t appreciate my career until I retire or I die,” Sports Illustrated quotes the man as saying. “I want to smell my roses now.”
No matter the intent behind his words, there is little doubt that the 41-0-1 Wilder and the 20-1 Breazeale have some serious bad blood between them. A hotel skirmish reportedly involving Breazeale, team Wilder and Breazeale’s family went down several years ago, presenting another layer of ugliness to a sport which unfortunately seems to be forever adding on new coats. Breazeale has presented the incident as a horrible affront to he and his family. Wilder has responded that Breazeale is twisting the narrative to make he and his team appear in a terrible light. Smack talk can help build a fight, but the genuine hostility shared between Wilder and Breazeale is quite real.
One interesting side note: had Wilder indented to merely rattle Breazeale with his recent comments, the tactic doesn’t seem to have worked. “I’m not going to react to his words,” the LA Times quotes the easy going Breazeale as saying. “It’s very uncivilized, not in my character and not right.” Breazeale, whose lone loss was to British heavyweight kingpin Anthony Joshua, is expected to lose on Saturday. Yet few would deny the Californian has the power to turn out the lights at any given moment. All but two of the man’s victories have come by knockout.
More Headlines
By: Jesse Donathan
“In a one-on-one setting, Hamed’s arrogance is oddly charming, like a small boy wearing his father’s clothes,” writes Timothy W. Smith on the then WBO featherweight champion “Prince” Naseem Hamed in his December 17, 1997 NYTimes article titled, “BOXING; He’s a Champion of Self-Promotion.” In the cut throat industry of pugilism, it’s going to take a little more than fast hands and a pretty face to make it to the top. A degree of self-promotion is necessary in order to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. Hamed was arrogant, brash and believable. All ingredients necessary to become a master self-promotor. And if the fact this article exists is any indication, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs), like Hamed before him, is a champion of self-promotion too.
If you’re in tune with the world of combat sports, it’s been hard to miss Wilder in the news lately. And as they say in the world of promotion, even bad publicity is good publicity. According to foxnews.com reporter Ryan Gaydos in his May 16, 2019 article titled, ”Deontay Wilder promotes upcoming bout by talking about opponent’s death in ring: ‘If he dies, he dies’,” the WBC heavyweight champion of the world recently stated, “This is the only sport where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time. It’s legal. So why not use my right to do so?”
Gaydos would later go on to write that, “In a separate interview with USA Today, Wilder continued to up the ante with his talk. “If he dies, he dies,” Wilder said of Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs). “This is boxing. This is not a gentleman’s sport. This is a gladiator’s sport. And with bad blood, we know I possess the power.”
“If he dies, he dies,” if you think you’ve heard that line somewhere else before it’s because you have. They’re the immortal words of Ivan Drago, the Russian menace from Rocky IV. And they’re as chilling now as they were then. But stepping away from the current media frenzy, for those of us paying attention, these sentiments from Deontay Wilder are nothing new.
In an August 18, 2018 “SecondsOut” YouTube video titled, “Deontay Wilder on KILLING & CRIPPLING Fighters!,” Radio Rahim interviewed “The Bronze Bomber” about his previous statements along the very same lines to this latest controversy. And yet again, on November 2, 2017 Radio Rahim interviewed the WBC champion in his YouTube video titled, “DEONTAY WILDER: I Want a [DEAD] BODY on My Record! Gonna KILL Bermane Stiverne in Ring,” where Wilder echoed similar sentiments against then opponent Stiverne in what looks to be a fairly consistent promotional story line and angle from the WBC champion. Interestingly enough, Bermane Stiverne survived his encounter with Wilder, and god willing, so will Dominic Breazeale too.
But that doesn’t mean the bad blood between the two fighters isn’t very real. According to a February 27, 2017 badlefthook.com article titled, “Deontay Wilder and Dominic Breazeale involved in hotel fight,” the two heavyweight fighters have a violent history with one another. Author Scott Crist would go on to write that Wilder and Breazeale, “were involved in a large scale hotel lobby fight, according to TMZ, who have cell phone video of the scrap, not that there’s really a lot to see.”
As reported by badlefthook.com, Breazeale discussed the incident on social media, stating, “I want to address the fact that Deontay Wilder and a mob of about 20 people unprovokedly attacked my team and my family in the lobby last night. My coach and I were blindsided by sucker punches and my team was assaulted as well all in front of my wife and kids.” Breazeale would go on to write, “This cowardly attack has no place in boxing and believe me will not go unpunished.”
Searching for more information, according to a May 15, 2019 cbssports.com article titled, “Deontay Wilder on Dominic Breazeale: ‘His life is on the line for this fight and I do mean his life’,” author Brian Campbell reported that, “The hotel skirmish between the heavyweights, which occurred after Wilder’s 2017 win over Gerald Washington in Birmingham, began, according to Breazeale, when he was verbally accosted in the crowd by Wilder’s brother for being so vocal in giving instructions to his friend Washington.”
To be fair, not that there is an excuse for unsanctioned violence outside the ring or cage, but details about the exact vocal instructions Breazeale was alleged to have been making were not given. Though it would be interesting to get a copy of the transcript because perhaps Dominic was advising Washington to do more than just circle and work the jab against Wilder? Which is complete speculation on my part, though likely a pretty good guess. “Vocal in giving instructions,” could literally mean anything and leaves one to the devices of their own imagination to fill in the blanks. Whatever those instructions were, evidently, they carried enough weight to get Wilders undivided attention.
According to Campbell, “After the fight, word got back to Wilder about the words exchanged and he approached Breazeale, who had his wife and kids in tow, and berated him with harsh words demanding an apology.” Cbssports.com would go on to write that, “Breazeale then accused Wilder’s brother of punching him in the back of the head from behind to trigger a melee that was broken up.”
Knowing that there are always two sides to a story, according to an “MWRECKTV” YouTube video interview with Wilder titled, “Deontay Wilder On Breazeale Beef He Lied & Said I Had 20 G00NS W/ Me When I Ran Down On Him,” the WBC champion denied he had a large entourage with him during the hotel confrontation and stated that Dominic Breazeale even tried to sue him as a result of the incident. “He went on the pursuit of trying to sue me and get money from me. To let you know that he is a broke mother (expletive) and he needs money.”
Wilder would go on to state, “But he is going to get the opportunity this time.” Apologizing for his language, and explaining he is a realist that speaks from the heart, “I may tell you like I feel, but you will know when my work is in the ring; you will know how I was feeling.” Which is just another way of saying that not only does Wilder talk the talk, but he plans to walk the walk too.
Threatening to kill opponents in the ring is nothing new in boxing, though there is a dark history associated with such talk that looms over the sport like a dark cloud. The legendary welterweight champion Emile Griffith notoriously threatened to kill Benny “Kid” Paret in the lead up to their third and final fight on March 24th, 1962 in Madison Square Garden after Paret reportedly uttered a homophobic slur to Griffith. Paret would slip into a coma as a result of the cumulative damage received from Griffith in the fight and unfortunately later passed away ten days later in an area hospital as a result.
Wilder and Breazeale fight Saturday night, May 18, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. According to the bleacherreport.com, the odds are reported to be -850 for Wilder and +575 for Breazeale. The fight will be aired on ShowTime for those of us not fortunate enough to be ringside, and considering the promotional dream in the leadup to the fight it is sure to be one that doesn’t disappoint when the final bell rings. Will Breazeale survive the hammers of Thor Wilder is sure to bring or will Breazeale punish the WBC champ as he has promised to do? Tune in to find out.
More Headlines
By: William Holmes
On Saturday night the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York will host a heavyweight title fight between Deontay Wilder and Dominic Breazeale for the WBC Heavyweight Title.
This bout will be put on by Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) and will be televised live on Showtime.
Garry Russell Jr. will also be appearing on the card and will take on Kiko Martinez for Russell’s WBC Featherweight Title.
Photo Credit: Premier Boxing Champions Twitter Account
The following is a preview of both title bouts.
Gary Russell Jr.(29-1) vs. Kiko Martinez (39-8-2); WBC Featherweight Title
Whenever the name of Gary Russell Jr. comes up a debate follows if he’s a legitimate pound for pound fighter or not.
He’s a boxer who’s only blemish on his record came at the hands Vasily Lomachenko, a fighter most will agree is a pound for pound great. However, he’s also a boxer that has only fought once a year since 2015 and frustrates fans for his inactivity.
Russell will be facing Kiko Martinez on Saturday, a 33 year old boxer with eight losses on his resume and five of those losses coming since 2013. Martinez has been very active, as he fought twice in 2018 and three times in 2017. Martinez will also have about a two inch reach advantage and a half inch height advantage over Russell.
However, Russell has a clear edge in his resume of defeated opponents and amateur background. He won several national tournaments as an amateur in the United States and represented the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Martinez does not have the amateur pedigree of Russell.
Russell has defeated the likes of Joseph Diaz, Oscar Escandon, Patrick Hyland, Jhonny Gonzalez, and Christopher Martin. Martinez has defeated the likes of Marc Vidal, Hozumi Hasegawa, Jeffrey Mathebula, and Jhonatan Romero. He has losses to the likes of Carl Frampton (twice), Scott Quigg, Leo Santa Cruz, and Josh Warrington.
Even though Martinez has been more active than Russell, he doesn’t’ have the talent of Russell and has several losses and draws in recent years, including two losses by stoppage. This shouldn’t be a fight that Russell will have issues in.
Deontay Wilder (40-0-1) vs. Dominic Breazeale (20-1); WBC Heavyweight Title
This won’t be Dominic Breazeale’s first chance at a heavyweight title. When he last challenged for the heavyweight title he was stopped in the seventh round by Anthony Joshua.
On paper, it appears unlikely this fight will be much different.
Breazeale has power, as he has stopped eighteen of his opponents, but he also can be stopped, as he only made it to the seventh round when he faced Anthony Joshua. He’ll need a strong chin when he faces Wilder, who has stopped thirty nine of the forty opponents he has faced, and even knocked down Tyson Fury in their disputed draw.
Both boxers stand at 6’7” and Wilder will have a slight one and a half inch reach advantage. Wilder fought twice in 2018 and in 2017 while Breazeale only fought once in 2018 and twice in 2017.
Both boxers represented the United States in the Olympics. Wilder competed in the 2008 Olympics while Breazeale competed in the 2012 Olympics. Wilder however was able to medal while Breazeale did not.
Wilder has beaten the likes of Luis Ortiz, Bermane Stiverne, Gerald Washington, Chris Arreola, Artur Szpilka, Johann Duhaupas, Eric Molina, Malik Scott, and Siarhei Liakhovich.
Breazeale has beaten the likes of Carlos Negron, Eric Molina, Izuagbe Ugonoh, Amir Mansour, Fred Kassi, Yasmany Consuegra, and Victor Bisbal.
Wilder is looking for a big money fight but has remained steadfastly loyal to Al Haymon and Showtime. Dominic Breazeale stands in his way of that big money fight, but it’s an obstacle that Wilder should be able to overcome.
More Headlines
Thanks everybody for joining us. We have an exciting fight to talk about, certainly one of the biggest fights of the year.
Wilder vs. Breazeale is Saturday, May 18 live on SHOWTIME. It’s the heavyweight championship of the world. It is at Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING and it’s presented by Premier Boxing Championships. Tickets for the BombZquad event are available through Ticketmaster, barclayscenter.com and at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center.
Now I’m going to introduce Stephen Espinoza, President of Sports and Event Programming for Showtime Networks to make introductory comments. Stephen.
Stephen Espinoza
Thanks very much, Kelly. We are thrilled to be presenting Wilder vs. Breazeale on SHOWTIME a week from Saturday. Before we get there we are committed to this fight as if it were a pay-per-view because we believe that that’s where Deontay is in his career and this is the level of promotion that a fight of this caliber deserves.
So we will be premiering ALL ACCESS: WILDER vs. BREAZEALE on Friday, May 10th at 10 p.m. Following that will be a three-fight ShoBox telecast featuring Ruben Villa in the main event.
And those of you who know me know that I’m also a hip-hop music fan so I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Wu-Tang documentary, “Of Mics and Men,” that’s premiering tomorrow. So it’s a big lineup tomorrow night on SHOWTIME – 9 p.m. is the Wu-Tang documentary followed by ALL ACCESS: WILDER vs. BREAZEALE at 10 p.m. and then ShoBox at 10:30.
Next week ALL ACCESS will be active a daily basis debuting new short form episodes every day during fight week. Then we get to the fight itself. Look, I’m not going to give you too much about this.
You have two s6-foot-s7 heavyweights with a combined 90% knockout ratio so you really don’t have to sell too much on this one. Since 2015, SHOWTIME has featured 14 heavyweight world title fights.. We are happy to see the resurgence of the heavyweight division. We’re proud for our role in it. No other network has been as committed to the heavyweight division and no other network has done more to bring about this resurgence.
So we are thrilled to be seeing the heavyweights back on this massive stage once again. As I mentioned combined record of these two fighters, 60 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, 57 KOs. That is a knockout rate over 90%.
Deontay Wilder, obviously he’s coming off two of his most exciting and certainly career-defining performances – a Fight of the Year caliber fight against Luis Ortiz in March of 2018 and then his pay-per-view debut against Tyson Fury.
Those were two of the most exciting heavyweight fights that we’ve seen in quite some time. In Dominic Breazeale, Wilder will be facing a tall, strong, experienced and very motivated opponent.
At 6-foot-7, Dominic is one of the few heavyweights in the division who looks eye to eye with Deontay so that will be a different experience. With 18 KO victories in 21 professional fights, he has been on the world stage before taking on Anthony Joshua in the U.K.
And it’s no secret that there’s a personal rivalry from these two guys so there is no shortage of motivation. All in all we’re looking forward to this three fight card. Again, ALL ACCESS: WILDER vs. BREAZEALE will kick it off Friday at 10 p.m. followed by ShoBox and we will see all of you a week from Saturday in Brooklyn.
K. Swanson
Thanks Stephen. And yes, now we are going to turn to “Trouble” himself, Dominic “Trouble Breazeale”. He’s 20 and 1, with 18 knockouts. He’s a WBC mandatory challenger. He’s a 2012 U.S. Olympian from Glendale, California.
For this fight it’s his first fight training with Virgil Hunter in the Bay area. He previously challenged Anthony Joshua for the heavyweight title in 2016 and he won his last three fights by knockout.
So without further ado, we’d love to hear from you Dominic and if you’d like to make opening comments before we open it up the press and just let us know how things are going and your thoughts on the fight a week from Saturday:
Dominic Breazeale
Thank you Kelly. Camp is going great up here in the Bay Area. Virgil Hunter’s done a great job of putting things in and implementing my game plan going into this fight May 18.
I’m definitely excited to be fighting on the world stage again for the WBC title. May 18 is going to be an explosive night. You’ve got two knockout artists, two big six-foot-seven guys.
I’m super excited to be involved with the event. I’m super excited to get a big KO win May 18. Like I said, the body feels great. Camp has gone up and beyond what I expected it to be.
I’m super ready. I can’t wait to get on this plane and get to New York and get this started.
Q
Deontay Wilder has turned out to be a pretty good heavyweight champion. What makes you think you can beat him?
D. Breazeale
Your opinion on him being a pretty good heavyweight champion, that’s your opinion alone. I don’t think anyone else agrees with you on that one. But I don’t see any fundamental skills. I don’t see any successes on his part.
He’s been champion for about four years. He hasn’t grown. He hasn’t changed. Yes, he’s got a big right-hand but don’t we all in the heavyweight division? We all have knockout power.
So I think I’m walking into a fight where I’m the more skilled, more athletic and bigger, stronger guy.
Q
You’re training with Virgil Hunter now. What has he brought to the table for you?
D. Breazeale
A little bit of everything. don’t see how I’ve come this far in my career, ten years of boxing now and haven’t learned some of the fundamental basics that he’s used to restructure me.
Yes, they’ve always been there but with this new approach training he was able to bring a lot more out in my fundamentals as far as when I use my jab and how I use it and other things that we plan on using in our game plan on May 18.
Q
How badly would you like a knockout in this specific fight given all the animosity that’s been going on between yourself and Wilder that stems back to your issues a couple of years ago in Birmingham?
D. Breazeale
Going into every fight is probably the biggest fight of your life. And I’m always looking for a huge knockout, something to impress the fans and impress the boxing community.
At the same time, I’m never looking for it. I’m never trying to surge and try too hard to get the knockout. I always let it come. But this one, it’s going to be a lot better success. It’s going to be a lot better sleeping May 18 the night after I win the title, if I get a knockout.
Don’t get me wrong. A win’s a win but at the same time I want to impress the world. I want to impress the boxing community with a big knockout. When I say big knockout one where my right hand, my left hand is going to make contact and he goes out. Doesn’t get back up.
Q
So what would be the personal satisfaction on that besides just the great accomplishment to win the heavyweight belt?
D. Breazeale
The personal thing from the outside of the ring makes the revenge factor. You approach myself and my wife and kids in a situation that was not boxing related.
The gratification and the fact that my personal revenge, knocking out Deontay Wilder is a lot bigger than just an actual win or KO on any other given night.
Q
How do you think that you can stand-up to his right hand, if Anthony Joshua was able to get you?
D. Breazeale
I’ve grown a lot in the last few years. The Joshua fight was an eye opener. It was good experience. I learned then that I was standing there a lot more and taking some damage that I didn’t need to take because of the big guy that I am.
As I said earlier, Wilder’s got a big right hand but so do I and I’ve got a big left hook. In the heavyweight division if you don’t have knockout power, you’ve got no reason to be in the division.
So yes, Wilder’s going to throw some leather and make some contact by all means. Boxing, it’s all about hitting and not getting hit. I don’t plan on getting hit a lot May 18 and if I do, I’ve been there. I’ve done that before.
At the same time I plan on putting on all the punishment. And if the right hand comes, so be it. I’ll deal with it. It’s part of boxing.
Q
We want to see the heavyweight champions fight each other. What is your statement on that as far as the way that people look at the heavyweight division right now?
D. Breazeale
I don’t disagree with you or the boxing fans just because I’m a boxing fan myself. Of course you always want to see the title holders fight each other.
But right now I think those five names you mentioned, myself, Andy Ruiz, Tyson Fury, Wilder and Joshua, we are the top of the division and the fans are getting exposed to what they want to see. They’re getting exposed to a heavyweight fight.
When I fight Wilder May 18 it’s not going to be boring. It’s going to be action packed. It’s going to be big punch after big punch. And the thing with Joshua and Andy Ruiz, I’m excited to be part of the division. I’m excited to be where I am now standing. I’m also super excited to be the spoiler.
Wilder’s had a great deal on the table, whenever he was working with Joshua and I think he should have taken it because come May 18, I’m going to ruin everything.
I’m going to put my name in that hat with Joshua and I definitely want my revenge against Joshua so we’re going to make some things up in the near future. My way to do that is to get my WBC title and that’s what I plan on doing.
Q
You think that fight against Carlos Negron might have knocked off some ring rust and maybe helped you prepare for the fight against Deontay Wilder?
D. Breazeale
Yes, anytime you have a little bit of layoff, a little bit of ring rust you don’t want that of course but I was glad I was able to do it December 22 against Carlos Negron.
I’m happy to be getting in the ring as soon as I am now for the WBC title shot. There wasn’t a long layoff between me in the ring December 22, taking a couple of days off for Christmas and New Years and getting right back in the gym in January.
So I think like I said earlier, I’ve had a great camp. I’ve had a lot less layoff than in the past and all cylinders are firing.
Q
Was it tough having to wait before you knew you would get that opportunity to face Deontay?
D. Breazeale
Yes, definitely tough. I won the WBC title eliminator against Eric Molina and then to be told that it’s going to be sometime, six months, seven months which turned into I think almost about a year.
That was very tough because I’m one of the guys who stayed in the gym. I’m sparing every other day or sparing once a week. I’m always in the gym and I’m always working. Sometimes that can take a toll on you.
But fortunately in my favor it worked out great. I got another fight against Carlos Negron and attended the WBC mandatory and here a year and a half later getting ready to fight for a world title. In a sense, it kept me motivated. It kept me working.
Q
What did you think of Deontay’s performance against Tyson Fury? Did watching that fight kind of give you a better idea of what you need to do to beat Deontay Wilder?
D. Breazeale
Yes, definitely. It gave me some better things to be focusing on and to hone in on at the same time. I was there in person.
I thought Fury won that fight. I know he got knocked down a couple of times but as far as the boxing, the world looks at him how he scored in a boxing match. Tyson outscored Wilder that night and won that fight.
Fury did some good things. He had some great defensive movements. He did some good attacks as well as counter punching. On the other hand, Wilder did the same thing over and over like he’s done in his last four, five fights – over the last four or five years is throw the one, two and hopefully hope and pray that the right hand lands eventually.
There were some things that I learned from the fight as well as some things I’ve continuously seen over and over, time and time again.
Q
What were your thoughts when you got found by Michael King?
D. Breazeale
The idea first came across in a phone call. Joe Onowar, he called me, he was the recruiter at the time. I completely thought he was crazy.
`There was no way in hell that I was going to pick up boxing at 23 years old after I’d done football, basketball, track, baseball, hockey, wrestling – all that as a kid. Never stepped foot into a boxing ring, then to pick it up as a sport at 23 years old when I was at the end of my career.
Honestly at the time I thought it was a real dumb idea but three months into it after I had my first amateur fight and 18 months later when I became a 2012 Olympian and now 10 years later now I’m fighting for the WBC World Title, I think Michael King was the smartest man on the planet.
For me to be the one that came out the man on top is special, there were hundreds of athletes that came to the door. I feel like the idea of turning a Division One athlete into a professional boxer. It was crazy then ten years ago but now, I think it’s a great phenomenal idea.
Q
Even Jim Brown thought that with a couple months of training he could fight Muhammad Ali. Why is it that football players have this idea that hey, if I’m good at football I can be just as good at boxing?
D. Breazeale
I think the idea of the contact was that thinking that I’m a big man. I’m aggressive. I’m powerful, that type of thing. In the football world you’d think of the defensive ends, the linebackers, the running backs, the left tackle, the guys that have the most contact on the football field would be the biggest, baddest guy in the boxing ring. Not true.
Here you are, you’re talking to a quarterback who usually takes all the damage and they always want to put a yellow jersey or a pink jersey on during practice and don’t touch the quarterback type of deal. The tables are turned and I’m actually the aggressor and I’m the knockout puncher now.
The guys in the football world believe that because they can hit somebody with their shoulder or they can make the big tackle that they can throw some gloves on and throw their lives in the ring. It’s a different story man.
And like Mike Tyson said it best. Everybody has a game plan so they get punched in the mouth.
Q
When you were quarterbacking at Northern Colorado, if you had gotten some feedback from
NFL people that you might have been a draftee in the top three rounds, would you have even entertained Mr. King’s offer to go into boxing?
D. Breazeale
No, not at all. Actually that was be the scenario. I was actually pursuing the NFL. Things didn’t pan out the way I wanted them to. And it turned out that Michael King was still there when the NFL door closed so that’s why I began to venture into the boxing world.
To tell you the truth, I actually started boxing to stay in shape for football camps but soon those doors closed and boxing was the only thing I had. And I’m grateful for it now. God’s put boxing into my life and it’s been a blessing in disguise.
Q
Did you ever doubt you would get back into the title picture and what does it mean now to get another chance at the heavyweight title?
D. Breazeale
Yes, going into depression sometimes and things like that. I’m a pretty positive, optimistic type of guy. My way of bouncing back from that title shot against Joshua was to study the film day in and day out.
I watched it round after round, minute after minute. I watched it in silence. I watched it with people. I watched it without people. And I guess I can say that the quarterback background in me kind of studying. And I wanted to see everything that I did wrong.
I didn’t want to see anything I did right because I understood there were things that were done right but there were a lot more things that were done wrong. I wanted to capitalize on my mistakes.
That’s what I did at the time. Me and my trainer Manny Robles went back to California and kind of restructured my boxing skills and they grew. And lucky enough that we were fortunate enough to have three big KO wins and here we are back again fighting for the world title.
I’m looking forward. I learned a lot more from that one loss than I learned from all my wins in my whole boxing career and amateur career. So that one lifetime experience in the summer of 2016 against Joshua was a lot bigger for my boxing career than anything could have been.
Q
Do you see the incident that happened with Wilder as motivation right now or do you want to get beyond that so you’ll be able to fight as clearly as possible when you face Wilder on the 18th?
D. Breazeale
It’s been the biggest motivational tool in this last camp. It’s the one thing that gets me up early in the morning to run. It’s the thing that gets me through the 10th and 11th and 12th round of sparring. It’s the idea of I want to achieve and stay focused.
It’s definitely been a huge motivator for camp. I think I’m going to close here pretty soon, the week of the fight. It’s more or less going to be the mental idea that I’m going into a heavyweight title fight to perform my best, to fulfill my best.
I’m not going to take any of that emotion or craziness into the fight because if you do that you’ve already lost the battle.
K. Swanson
Okay, great. That’s our last question for you Dominic. We really appreciate you taking the time as you finish up your training today to be on this call. Dominic, any last words?
D. Breazeale
Thank you Kelly. Thank you ladies and gentlemen. I appreciate you all having me. I’m looking forward to having an explosive firework night on May 18. The fight week is going to be great.
I’m feeling great. Looking forward to travelling and can’t wait to get started Saturday night.
K. Swanson
At this time, I want to introduce everybody to the WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World, none other than Deontay Wilder.
He is 40 and 0 with one draw and he has 39 knockouts. Representing his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he’ll be looking to make the ninth defense of his heavyweight title that he won back in January 2015.
In 2018 he had two of the most exciting and memorable fights of the year. He defeated then unbeaten Luis Ortiz in March knocking him out in the tenth round of a back and forth war.
Then in December he dropped Tyson Fury twice, including in the 12th round of their clash that eventually ended in a split draw. This Saturday, May 18 he will be defending his title for the fourth time at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and he has had knockouts in all three of his previous defenses there.
Also joining him on the line is Shelly Finkel, for any questions you might have for him. I’d like to introduce none other than the Heavyweight Champ of the World, Deontay Wilder to make his opening comments before we open it up to the press.
D. Wilder
Hello guys. How you guys doing? Thank you guys for coming along. What can I say that I haven’t already said? I’m excited about May 18. It’s been a long camp. It’s been a hard camp. It’s also been a fun camp. Very interesting as well too.
I broke myself back down to the basics and I’ve invested in myself more than I’ve ever done in my career thus far. It’s crazy this opponent has allowed me to break myself down and get back to the basics because I’ve already stated what I want to do.
I’m going to do what I said I was going to do just like I do all the time. With this particular fight I’m going to make sure I do it in the worst way possible.
That’s why I decided to break myself down and I decided to invest in myself so I make sure I do exactly what I said that I would do in intense fashion, in a painful way and on an elite level. So I’d like to welcome Breazeale to the elite level.
He’s never been in this level before. He thought he did with Joshua but Deontay Wilder is a whole different beast. I come with a whole different mindset. And we already know that I come with the right hand from hell.
Q
Can you maybe tell us some of the things that you did in camp that were different from before?
D. Wilder
Well like I said, I’ll start with a simple thing. I started back jump-roping. I started back doing a lot of speed bags, a lot of different things on the heavy bags.
Most of the time my camps, there’s sparring with the mitts and that’s through all of them. If you go into other camps you’ll see them hitting everything in the gym but not hard. I get away with so much because I know my true ability and my training. A lot of these guys, they only look for one particular thing and that’s the right hand. That’s where they go wrong because I have so many different attributes about myself.
I’m athletic. I’m agile. I’m mobile. I’m hostile. I’ve got the heart of a lion. I am a king. I’ve purchased a lot of different equipment to enhance my body and to perform, like a Jacuzzi and strength training equipment.
I’ve got the top of the line Jacuzzi for therapy, different things like that. My home, in my basement I attempted to put a full gym, a personal gym, a real nice one. And it’s been amazing. 24 hours of training.
I had got to the point where I had to stop training so hard. My doctor advised me not to train so hard because it always kept me up. I went off to the gym and then I’d come home. And then when you have a gym at the house it’s like and you’ve got a fight coming up, it’s non-stop thinking.
So if you’re thinking about the fight, your body is going to react and so you go downstairs and start working out or start hitting the bag or start doing a lot of things. I’ve got massage table here and I’ve got a lot of different things here that I never thought about doing before.
But now, like I said, I want to bring the pain. I want to do so much damage to this guy that he’s allowed me to invest in myself, something I should have done a long time ago. But it’s never too late for new things and for me it just relit my career.
It relit the interest in boxing. I’ve been through so much in this sport ups and downs. And it took all this time. It took this motivation right here. It’s paid off outside of the ring
Everything I say I mean. And I do what I say. And that’s what makes me who I am. I’m the realest champion in the business and that’s where I am at this point.
Q
Deontay, what convinced you to make these changes? Is there any one thing that made you do that or is it a combination of things?
D. Wilder
I owe it all to Breazeale. I owe it all to him.
Like I said, I’m coming to bring the pain. If you don’t understand that, you’ll see. My actions speak louder than my words. I’m not one of these guys that just talks just to hear myself talk or who’s cloud chasing or just to say some stuff, because I am who I am.
I don’t waste my time. I’ve always been like that. This hasn’t just started because I’ve gotten into boxing. I became a champion.
Anyone that’s grown with me, anyone that’s been around me will tell you when Deontay’s speaking and saying something, even my managers and my trainers, they all will tell you when this guy speaks he means it. He don’t say nothing just to say it. Like he really means it.
And the thing is that when I’m outside of this ring, a man comes to my city and starts chaos like that and then telling a bogus story, try to sell sympathy and wants people to show sympathy and remorse. I don’t like that.
I don’t like that at all. He’s like one of these guys that will come into your establishment and waste water on the floor and slip on it just to sue you. What goes around comes around.
This May 18, it will be my time. It’s punishment time. It’s judgement time. And I am the judge.
Q
You’ve long been a critic of the epidemic of PED’s in boxing. It obviously came to the forefront with this Jarrell Miller and Anthony Joshua situation. What went through your mind when you see a guy fail three tests?
D. Wilder
Where do I start with it? I’ve always told people about Jarrell Miller. I’ve always said certain things. I know a lot of things about a lot of fighters, because I know the people that I’ve fought.
Like they tell me, the doctors tell me. They’re not my friend. I’m just here for the business. And that sounds about right. I give out subliminal messages. I’m not a rat. I don’t go around and call names out and stuff. But I’ve been saying a lot of things.
One particular time I said something about Jarrell Miller. I said, you better stop doing this, this and this. Somebody put out the video before. Finally, when things happened, people were saying, hey Wilder’s been saying that.
Yes, I’ve been saying that. Why can’t you believe me in the first place? I’m one of these types of people that people don’t believe things I say happened, which is okay because it’s too late.
Another thing about the situation. There’s so many things you can say about the situation. I’m just tired of talking about it so I’ll leave it as this. I’m always talking about what can happen in the ring. This sport, you know, killing a man in the ring.
This boxing is so dangerous, so brutal. When you get these guys on these PEDs and stuff like that, this is what they’re going to do.
Like I’m natural. I’m natural so I feel like I have the right to speak my peace because I am the one that’s entering the ring. I am the one and my opponent’s the one that’s risking their life.
But when you’re getting guys that are doing PEDs and asking their bodies to do things they’re not supposed to do – no one really just criticizes. Even with the organizations, when is there going to be a time when somebody puts their foot down and shows somebody?
There’s so much stuff you can say with that man. Like I said, it is what it is. It’s a brutal sport that we’re in and I love it. I love it. I signed up so I’ve got to suffer the consequences and deal with everything that comes behind it and I’m here.
Q
Dominic said that he doesn’t think anybody would agree with me that you’ve become a pretty good world champion. What are your thoughts on that?
D. Wilder
I mean that was what every opponent I’ve faced has said. Every one of them. If it’s been ten years, then for ten years they’ve been spewing the same thing for ten years – what have I been doing?
I’m still here. I’m still a champion. It’s different when you get in the ring with me then. Any guy that has gotten in the ring with me or that gets in the ring with me – when I say gets in the ring I mean a sparring partner.
The guys that have gotten in the ring with me, being future opponents, they will tell you, this man is not what you think he is. But it’s good that people think that way.
People are simple minded, people like him think that way because when you enter into that ring and you feel that first blow, you know that you’re in for a fight. My mindset is different. My mindset is so big that a spaceship can fit in it.
I am here for the long run. This is not a short run for me. I’m here for a generational one. I’m betting on myself. I’m taking control of my career in my own hands because I am the talent. I know what I possess. A lot of these guys wish they had what I have. That’s just an easy way to cop out. For ten years this is what he’s been doing with his right hand.
We’re going to find out and it’s not going to be long now either. He’s going to find out. So he’s going to realize that he’s never been in a ring with a guy like myself. He’s fought for the world title before and it seemed like he didn’t belong there in the first place.
Now he’s in there with a real killer. A real one who speaks that speaks his peace and I mean what I say. Nobody’s going to stop me. I mean what I say and I say what I mean and come the 18th he’s going to find out.
This guy is very nervous. I know everything that he wants to do. I know it all. And he should be nervous because I don’t mean no good for him. All bad intentions. If you’re a first time viewer of boxing, I don’t know, it depends on how you feel about seeing a body on the ground or seeing blood on somebody. You’re going to be in for a treat.
I hope you stick around for the next one and the next one to come because I’m the most exciting heavyweight in the business, period. Period. There’s no one that’s more exciting that brings the pain and that brings the drama as I. And I can speak it.
A lot of you guys, you know who want to be kind and soft and want to be politically correct and want to talk tough. No, I’ll tell you what I feel in the moment of time. I feel the energy in the room. I feel the energy in myself and I release that.
I tell you how it is and when the time comes for me to display that I do that as well and I do it in a great fashion.
Q
Is there any kind of competition within you to want to show the boxing public or the fans that you Joshua and Fury are all fighting within a 30 day period roughly and you want to be the one to show as the best performance of those three to sort of let people continue to gauge you against each other?
D. Wilder
I never even thought about that. Nor will I think about it after this conversation because I know what I possess. I know who I am and as you can see, I’m the most exciting out of all of those guys.
These guys don’t bring the excitement that I bring. Tyson Fury’s the most boring one of all or of us. So I think I just continue to do what I do and do what I do best and that’s knock these guys out silly. I’m not in competition with none of them.
They’re great guys. They’re great fighters themselves and I expect them to be themselves. Don’t add no pressure onto it. Do what you all do. And Deontay Wilder’s going to do what he does.
Q
How do you explain to the public why those fights are not happening at the moment?
D. Wilder
Well it’s simple. If they took the time and took a deep breath and sat back and reflected on their past and what has happened there. I know we’re in the present right now and the future’s bright as well too.
But if you look back in the past and sit back and see what Deontay has already tried to do to him and his team has tried to do, let’s start out with Fury first. With Fury since Fury felt like everyone got that perspective of him beating me from the commentary.
When you get new people come in, they don’t know what they’re looking at. They don’t’ know what’s going on so they’re going to look for the so-called experts of the sport and listen to them.
So let’s start from there. They carry away with that. So if I’m a fighter and I’m thinking, hey, I beat his ass, my first reaction is, I want an immediate rematch. I feel like they got that wrong.
You want an immediate reaction rematch because you know the second rematch ain’t nothing. That’s going to be simple. It’s going to be easy.
So what we did – I said, hey, I know what I did. I whipped your ass. I was more aggressive. I want to understand, what was the main highlight of the fight the whole night? I think we all can answer that. It’s Fury being knocked on his ass and getting back up. That was the whole highlight of the whole fight.
So in essence, I’m saying, hey, I won so I want a rematch. As a champion instead of moving forward I want to give you this rematch because I want to bless you. So what did he do? So if you’re a guy that knows that you’re beating me with a wild margin, you immediately take that rematch.
You don’t run or get other fighters. You immediately take that. Fury knows. I gave him a concussion. When you get a man that doesn’t understand how he got on the ground nor how he got up, his brain has been shocked. He don’t want that fight no more.
He don’t want to get in no more. As as a fighter we must promote ourselves. We must carry this type of ego like I’m the man and I did this and that because we don’t want people to look on us as punks or somebody’s that scared.
Because you’re a fighter. You’re not supposed to be scared. Well we’re human beings as well too. So if he’s on his side he knows the real reason. That’s why he’s fighting another guy. That’s why he had the contract in his face for five days to a week.
Then ESPN came along and all of them. He didn’t want that fight or I wouldn’t have had to fight my mandatory. I would have gone straight to Fury and then with Breazeale.
With Joshua it’s easy. Four months we tried. Four different occasions. Maybe five different occasions. 12.5, 15 flat fee. He said, I want 50/50. We gave that to him. Well, no, my country deserves for me to fight here so I’m going to fight here.
So he didn’t want to fight on his own so they had to step in and make the fight and then they had to come back and apologize because they weren’t prepared for us. That’s what – four or five times we tried to make the fight? Now they cry because they don’t have nowhere to do.
Go back and study it. Go back and see, who really is the king of the division? Who really tried to make these fights? Then when you come back you’ll find yourself in a better place and you’ll come with peace with yourself.
Q
The PR people sent this out and I found it to be very interesting. The fight that you’re going to have against Breazeale is going to be your ninth title defense. You’re starting to edge into historical names on the list of heavyweights that have made that many defenses, if you’re successful against Breazeale.
Nin is how many defenses Muhammad Ali made the first time he was champion. It’s the number of title defenses that Mike Tyson made in his first famous title reign. And it’s the number of title defenses that Lennox Lewis made in his second championship reign which was obviously when he was at his very best.
What would it mean to you to sort of put yourself in that list of guys to get to the ninth title defense in the heavyweight division?
D. Wilder
It means a lot. I means a great deal to me. It means a lot to accomplish that. It means that I’ve proved so many people wrong and still to this day I’m proving people wrong.
It’s going to be a great accomplishment not only in the past – so many great fighters that came before me but to continue to go forward to be the number one guy. I’ve still got a long way to go to do what I want to do in this sport.
I will accomplish everything I set forth to do. I’m an amazing fighter. I’m an amazing talent and I’ve got an amazing team behind me. And with that combination man, the sky’s the limit.
Q
I feel like this fight is a little more personal to you than maybe some of your past fights, do you agree?
D. Wilder
Oh, most definitely. Oh man and that’s not a laugh of joy. That’s an evil laugh. In an evil scene, the evil man’s got to laugh. That’s my evil laugh.
I think this is the most excited I’ve been and the most I wanted to hurt a man since 2015 with Bermane Stiverne. And we all know what happened to him. And the second time was just playing around with him.
With this one right here, the story that comes behind it, people have got to understand when you’re dealing with Deontay Wilder, I’m passionate about what I say. I’m passionate about what I do.
Dominic Breazeale better display himself on that night, because I put him on my card. He didn’t have to be on my card. But you come to my hometown and cause this mess? And like I said before you want to start this drama and act like you were the victim and your wife was the victim? He’s an opportunist and I don’t’ like that.
So I needed this boost as a champion of the division, I needed this boost. Like I said, I never thought of investing in myself the way I’ve done. To be a champion and get away with so many different things, man it’s been crazy.
But now I’ve turned every stone over man. This is the most precise camp that I’ve ever had, in my entire life. I feel it tops all camps and I needed this re-ignition in my life. I needed this extra boost because I will do what I say I’m going to do and that night I’m damn well going to try. I guarantee you that.
Q
Was it frustrating for you to kind of have to reset yourself and now think about preparing for other opponents that are going to be wanting to fight you starting with Dominic Breazeale?
D. Wilder
No, it wasn’t. It wasn’t hard for me. You’ve got to look at what I’ve been through. I keep talking about the past. You’ve got to see what I’ve been through with different guys disappointing me.
Failing drug tests. Making me lose out on a lot of money. And stuff like that. So I understand the business of boxing and I know that if you have something in place one minute, the next minute it could be gone just like that.
Once you go through this cycle and you go through it over and over again, you try to get the understanding, a better understanding of fights and what’s to come. Nothing is guaranteed until you’re in that ring and that guy throws the first blow.
As we can see even when the bell rings, it doesn’t start until that first blow is thrown because we’ve got guys that will get out of the damn ring at the time the bell rings.
So things like that have prepared me. I understand as a fighter why he made that decision. I hurt Tyson Fury very badly. I gave him a crushing.
Like I said, the man had memory loss and that’s not healthy. That’s not healthy for you and as a man, as a man with a family, hey, if you need a warm-up, a tune-up to see if your marbles are back in place, go do that. Take as many more months as you need.
We understand. He said he got three more fights and then be out of here. We all know why he’s going to be out of here because one of those fights leads up to me. And I’m going to finish it. I’m going to finish the job.
So I understand it all. I have a guy there that can’t understand things. Even in everyday life there’s someone going through something. I try. My mind, like I said is so big and spacious so when you are describing something and telling me something I try to take my mind in a virtual reality and put myself in your position.
I try to look at every aspect possible and try to go and understand. So I understand why he made that decision. I understand it all. And it’s healthy that I want the best Fury when that time comes, just like I want with all these guys.
Because I don’t want no excuses. I’m the only fighter that can come in with damaged arms and body mashed and still knock you out because I am blessed. My grandma said I was anointed by God. And she was so right.
Q
I’m just wondering if you’ll talk about this topic of betting on yourself and what the plan is on your career to maximize the value you can get out of it?
D. Wilder
Yes, most definitely. Like I said, if anybody’s going to take my career, it’s going to be myself. I understand we used to have a promoter and what comes in the contract with having a promoter.
But when you get to a certain point and you know you’re the talent and they’re coming to see your talent. And if you have the opportunity, why not take a chance on yourself?
Why not bet on yourself and I have a smart team that educated me and guided me through. No matter what people say about certain people, I have a wonderful team.
Me and Shelly and Jay Deas, we started together. We’re going to end together. And when we brought Al along, even more it made me and my team strong.
So who I’m with now? It’s who I’m going to end with. And they guided me all the way through. They’re going to make sure that not only do I go in history but they go in history as well as a team and it’s a blessing to have such a strong team in a business that’s so dirty.
That’s why I bet on myself. I have everything established and set for myself. My own promotion. And we’re looking forward to doing great things.
We’re very serious in the promotion. I know a lot of guys, oh, I’ve got a promotion coming up. Well that sounds good but what do you really want to do with it? And I’m in it for the long run.
I think I have the talent and ability to display myself in a way that can bring excitement in a way I’ve already done but the next step is to cement outside of the ring.
I think I’m going to be able to promote fighters and be able to talk about them and not talk about myself and be able to really promote fighters and bring the next Deontay Wilder or the next whoever they want to be.
I always say, even as I tell my brother I don’t want you to be just like me. I want you to be better than me. I’m the type of person that even if you do better than me, I’m happy for you.
And a lot of people are not like that because some people you do get equal to them or higher than them. That’s when the jealousy and envy come. I’m not that type of person.
My heart is of gold. I’m a provider and protector. And I love to see people do great even if it’s better than I.
Shelly Finkel
Deontay is willing to take the risk both in taking low money and he’s willing to walk away. One of the most powerful words in the world is no and he is strong enough to say no and believe in himself that whatever he said no to now would be worth a lot more later.
So far that has proven through and I don’t see any reason it won’t be going forward. He’s a very, very strong human, not physically but mentally. And when you’re with him, you’re with him and he’s with you. There’s nothing better.
People have tried to break us up. His strength of who he is, means he knows who was there for him whether it be Jay or Al or myself. And that’s who he sticks with. I’m just very proud of him and proud to be part of his team.
K. Swanson
What I’d like to do is ask Deontay if he has final thoughts before we hang up. And we look forward to seeing you next week in Brooklyn for Fight Week. Deontay?
D. Wilder
May 18 is the time. I think everyone is being patient with this little thing that we have going on in the heavyweight division.
Just look at it and consider this – the excitement is back in the heavyweight division. The fire is lit. I’m more excited than I’ve ever been in my career because of everything that’s going on with it.
So I ask people just to be patient. And with patience comes time. And you’ve got to be able to even both out, patience and time, because they all work together.
You’re going to get the main fight that you guys want to see. The great thing about it is that we’re all still in discussion. I can understand if it was a closed door and we’re not having no discussion with nobody. Then it would be something that really would be a laid out or drawn out thing.
But everyone is still in discussion and talking and it’s just going to take a little time but I just tell people, the fans of boxing, people that’s coming in boxing, everyone just to have patience. The big fights are going to happen.
You know that when the big fights happen, you know that Deontay Wilder’s involved in it because most of these guys they live by the motto of less risk with high rewards.
But we know that I’ve taken high risks with low rewards. We’ve gotten smarter. We’ve proven ourselves. And we’re doing our own thing. Like I said, we’re betting on ourselves and when I bet on myself, you’re going to get great response.
You’re going to get great shows out of me. And I’m looking forward to May 18. So I’ll see you guys there and I’m looking forward to you guys. And I also want to announce my new clothing line. I got it coming out that will be sold online. You can look out for that. That way you can get your gear and are ready for May 18 and support me.
More Headlines
By: Sean Crose
“I thought Fury won that fight,” heavyweight contender Dominic Breazeale said on a Thursday conference call, referring to last December’s Deontay Wilder – Tyson Fury title matchup. Now it’s Breazeale who will be facing Wilder, for on May 18th, the two men will face off at Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center for Wilder’s WBC belt in a bout that will be aired live on Showtime. Although some see the 40-0-1 Wilder as perhaps the best heavyweight on earth, the 20-1 Breazeale isn’t particularly impressed. “I don’t see any fundamental skills,” Breazeale said of his foe. “He hasn’t grown. He hasn’t changed. He has a big right hand, but don’t we all in the heavyweight division?”
After having a searing incident in a Birmingham hotel lobby with Wilder and his team several years ago, Wilder made it clear that he’s used the experience as motivation for the May 18th bout. “It’s been the biggest motivational tool in these last ten weeks of camp,” he told me on the call. Still, the fighter indicated he’s not going to let the memory of the incident take away from his game plan. “I’m not going to take any of that emotion and crazy antics into the fight,” he added. “If you do that, you already lose the battle.”
As for Wilder, the WBC champ claimed he went back to the basics for the upcoming match with Breazeale. “It got to the point I had to stop training so hard,” he said on the call, “my doctor advised me to stop training so hard.” The hotel incident has clearly motivated Alabama’s Wilder, as it has Breazeale. According to Wilder, Breazeale has falsely presented himself as the victim of the chaos of that evening. “What goes around comes around,” Wilder said. “Come May 18th it’s punishment time.”
There is little doubt that Wilder can promote a fight. Whether he’s speaking of himself (“I have the heart of a lion. I am a king.”), PED use (“I’m natural. I feel like I have the right to speak my peace”), or the boxing game in general (“It’s a brutal sport that we’re in, and I love it.”), the man makes people take notice when he talks. Still, his anger with Breazeale certainly came across as legitimate on the call. He described his opponent several times Thursday as someone who would enter a business, spill water, then slip on it in order to bring about a lawsuit.
“I want,” Wilder said, “to bring the pain.”
More Headlines
By: Hans Themistode
The New York City Press conference to announce the Heavyweight title clash between WBC champion Deontay Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) and Dominic Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs) was a feisty affair. Both men have a long lasting feud that stretches far beyond the squared circle.
In 2017 the two fought on the same card and both picked up impressive victories. Breazeale’s coming against then Izuagbe Ugonoh and Wilder’s coming against Gerald Washington. Ironically enough both men scored stoppage victories in round five.
Sometime after their contests they got into a dispute that ended in a bit of a tussle. Ask both men what happened and they will both tell you completely different stories. Regardless of what they have been saying, the time for talk is over as they will be squaring off on May 18 at the Barlcays Center.
Wilder has become a staple at the Barclays as it has become some what of a de facto home for the Alabama native. The WBC champion expressed his admiration for the venue as well.
“It’s a blessing to be back in Brooklyn and back at the Barclay Center. You know how dear this place is to me. I’ve been here so many times. Out here they call me the Bronx Bomber instead of the Bronze Bomber and I love it. I’m looking forward to fighting here again.” Said Wilder.
Seems as though it was a calm press conference doesn’t it? Think again. These two bohemians wasted no time expressing their dislike for one another while also giving warnings of what exactly will happen come fight night.
“I finally get a chance to get this chump in the ring. I’m tired of hearing you talk. It’s time to get in the ring and square off.” Said Breazeale.
In the world of boxing it is common place that two fighters don’t like one another but normally there is a healthy level of respect. For Breazeale however there seems to be none there.
“It’s hard for me to believe that Wilder is the Heavyweight champion. How can a man with a lack of boxing skills be the champion? Come fight night he’s going to bring everything that he has. He’s gonna feel my right hand and I might feel his but I guarantee if he feels mines then he’s going down.”
The war of words didn’t stop there as Breazeale explained just how elated he was when he found out that Wilders younger brother Marcellus was knocked out earlier this year.
“Man I was so excited that I sent the guy who did it “Trouble” gear. I wanna take the guy out and buy him dinner, maybe a good steak. I’ve got that highlight in my house.”
There is absolutely no love and no respect shown between these two. In the words of Breazeale, Wilder does everything wrong. But how do you prepare for someone that is so unconventional?
“I don’t know maybe I have to find some tall basketball players to spar against.”
For as much as Breazeale poked fun at Wilder’s expense he made it clear what he intends to do come fight night.
“This fight ain’t going the distance. I’m gonna knock his ass out.”
According to Wilder Breazeale deserved everything that happened to him on that night in Alabama.
“Listen, he sucker punched my brother,” said Wilder to the media. “He hit my brother first and then my brother came around and dropped him. He got embarrassed because my brother was only about 193 pounds. If my bother can do that to him what do you think I’m gonna do to him? I’m gonna knock his ass out come May 18th.”
Whenever Deontay Wilder speaks to the media it is impossible to not address the elephant in the room, meaning Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Wilder made it clear that he is not chasing anyone.
“I’m a king. We don’t chase anyone. I’m not hard to find. They know how to contact me.”
With all of the animosity that was spewed during todays press conference it is safe to say that fans can expect fireworks come fight night.
More Headlines
By: Sean Crose
“The reality is –he’s in charge of his career.”
With these words, Showtime honcho Stephen Espinoza made it loud and clear that WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder would rather fight on Showtime than he would on the DAZN streaming service, which had reached out to make a deal with the Alabama native. And so, on Showtime, Wilder will face Dominic Breazeale on May 18th at Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center.
“I’m sick of seeing this bum walking around with this belt,” said the 20-1 Breazeale, Wilder’s mandatory opponent, during a kickoff press conference Tuesday in New York. “I’m going to put him on his ass.”
“I consider the mandatories like flies,” Wilder quipped, “they’re always buzzing in your ear.” If Breazeale had meant to irk Wilder, he may have accomplished his goal. “This is the only sport where payback is a motherfucker,” the 40-0-1 Wilder said. “Pain is the name of the game in this sport, and we all know who does that the best.”
Many had expected Wilder to have a rematch with Tyson Fury this spring, as the two men had fought to a controversial draw last December. Fury, however, signed with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions, and will now be fighting on ESPN, Showtime’s competition. As for DAZN, a deal with Wilder might have led to a heavyweight superfight with multibelt titlist Anthony Joshua. Team Wilder found the offer unfair, however.
“We’re going to have a lot of people we’re going to satisfy,” said Wilder, “and there’s some people we’re not.”
As for Breazeale, the man had a searing run in with Wilder in a hotel lobby some time back. It was an incident the California native made clear motivates him. “I didn’t have an urban dictionary,” Breazeale said of the melee, “so I couldn’t understand what he was saying.” Wilder, too obviously remains heated over the matter. “I can’t wait to see what this dude’s body gonna do when I hit him in the face,” he said of his opponent.
Wilder jawed throughout the standoff while Breazeale simply stared at his opponent cooly. Wilder then appeared to stalk after Breazeale offstage, yelling the entire time. “Boy,” Wilder had said earlier. “I’ve been waiting for this day.” He certainly seemed to be enjoying the moment. Word had been out that the Wilder-Breazeale fight would go down on Showtime pay per view, so the fact it will air on regular Showtime this spring may come as a surprise to some.
More Headlines
Undefeated WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder will put his title on the line for the ninth time when he steps into the ring against hard-hitting mandatory challenger Dominic “Trouble” Breazeale live on SHOWTIME and presented by Premier Boxing Champions on Saturday, May 18 from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.
Wilder vs. Breazeale promises the type of explosive displays of power that fans have come to expect from the red-hot heavyweight division as the two knockout artists have combined for 57 knockouts in 62 professional bouts. Both men stand at 6-foot-7-inches tall, have engaged in numerous dramatic clashes and are fan-favorites at Barclays Center. Wilder will be fighting at the arena for the fourth time and Breazeale will be making his third appearance.
Tickets for this BombZquad event go on sale Friday, March 22 at 10 a.m. ET and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, barclayscenter.com, or by calling 800-745-3000. Beginning Saturday, March 23 at 12 p.m. ET, tickets can be purchased at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. Group discounts are available by calling 844-BKLYN-GP.
Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) is the most exciting heavyweight in the world with a power-punching style that has fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish, knowing the tide of a fight can change in the blink of an eye. He has only gone the distance twice in his career with 39 of his 41 matches ending inside of the distance. He battered Bermane Stiverne over 12 rounds to win a lopsided unanimous decision and claim the WBC title on Jan. 17, 2015. In the rematch two years later Wilder crushed Stiverne with a brutal first-round knockout that left the challenger crumpled on the bottom rope.
The 33-year-old Wilder is coming off a thrilling battle with British heavyweight contender Tyson Fury that resulted in a split draw on Dec. 1. Wilder scored knockdowns in the ninth and 12th rounds of the fight. The last knockdown appeared to finish off Fury, but he beat the referee’s count and made it to the final bell.
Born in and still living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Wilder picked up the nickname “The Bronze Bomber” in honor of Joe Louis, who was known as “The Brown Bomber” after he won the bronze medal as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic boxing team. Wilder got a late start as a boxer, taking up the sport at age 20 hoping to become a professional and earn enough money for the medical treatments of his daughter Naieya, who was born with spina bifida. He won the U.S. Olympic trials with just 21 amateur bouts under his belt.
“I’m very happy that I get a chance to get a mandatory out of the way, because I consider mandatories like flies buzzing around my head,” said Wilder. “They bother me. I’m busy. I have things that I want to do. I want to get him out of the way. I’m about to smash this fly. This is a personal fight for me. As the universe works this is the perfect time. I haven’t been this excited about destroying an opponent since Bermane Stiverne. I’m also excited to have the very first event for BombZquad Promotions at what I consider one of best arenas in the country, Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It’s go time baby. I can’t wait.”
Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs) is nicknamed “Trouble” and that’s exactly what he has been for his opponents. The 33-year-old has a durable chin and a slugger’s mentality, throwing heavy-handed shots that have seen him score 18 knockout victories in his 21 professional fights.
Breazeale, who was born in Glendale, California and now lives in Eastvale, California, was an outstanding high school football player who played quarterback at Northern Colorado University before taking up boxing. The 6-foot-7 Breazeale was a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team.
He put himself into position to challenge for the WBC world title by ripping off three straight knockout victories following the only loss in his career, a seventh-round TKO to Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight world title match in 2016. In December he scored a knockout victory in Brooklyn over Carlos Negron for his second-straight win at Barclays Center.
“I’m excited for the event more so than just fighting Deontay Wilder,” said Breazeale. “I want that WBC title. What I bring to the fight is excitement and consistent action. I’m going to bring the action all night. I’m not scared to stick my nose out there and look for the big shot. I know the big shot is coming as long as I set it up the right way.”
More Headlines
By: Michael Kane
With a fight against Anthony Joshua seemingly now not going ahead, Dillian Whyte hopes to fight Dominic Breazeale.
April 20th at the O2 Arena in London has been booked by Matchroom Promotions and it is likely we will see Whyte take centre stage at the venue where he has headlined the last three events.
Photo Credit: Anthony Fowler Twitter Account
Whyte had been in the running to face Joshua at Wembley Satdium on April 13th. That event now looks likely to be cancelled with Joshua heading Stateside to make his U.S debut against Jarrell Miller in June at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“The Joshua fight is dead. It is not happening at the minute, so we move on,” Whyte told Sky Sports.
“The good thing is I am in a position where I have got options. We wanted the fight, I think they wanted the fight as well but sometimes negotiations break down.
“I believe I have a certain value, bring a certain value to the fight. I need belief that this is what he wants to give me.”
“Negotiations in business are very difficult. The fans don’t really see the ins and outs of that. We move on.” he continued.
When asked who he is likely to face, Whyte answered, “I will fight April 20 here (the O2) hopefully against Dominic Breazeale, Alexander Povetkin, Luis Ortiz or one of those guys. Let’s see what Eddie can deliver in the next couple of days.”
If Whyte had to pick one, which one would it be?
“I would fight Dominic Breazeale because he is a big guy, only lost once and he is WBC mandatory challenger.”
“Even though I am number one for almost two years, he is number three and the mandatory, I don’t understand! We want to get to the bottom of that situation once and for all!”
More Headlines
The Wilder-Breazeale Melee: Families Should Be Off Limits
By: Sean Crose
This sort of thing happens. What’s more, it’s happened since the early days of boxing. Back in the late 1800s, James J Corbett nearly threw down with Bob Fitzimmons on a stretch of road in the leadup to their heavyweight title matchup. Since then, boxing has provided the world with more out of the ring, inappropriate antics than most could imagine. Some of us may well remember Mike Tyson’s off the wall New York brawl with Mitch Green…or Larry Holmes’ WWE maneuver on Trevor Berbick. Again, such things are part of boxing.
The out of the ring melee that apparently went down Saturday night between the camps of heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and contender Dominic Breazeale, however, seems to have involved Breazeale’s children – and that’s not acceptable. “I want to address the fact,” Breazeale tweeted, “that Deontay Wilder and a mob of about 20 people unprovokedly attacked my Team and my family in the lobby last night.” According to Breazeale, he and his coach were struck in front of Breazeale’s wife and kids in the lobby of a hotel. TMZ has run some confusing footage of the chaos, but it’s hard to discern much of anything on screen.
It’s important to keep in mind that there is no definitive proof of anyone actually doing anything criminal after Saturday’s fight card in Alabama (where both Breazeale and Wilder won in impressive fashion). All there essentially is at this point is TMZ and the words of some of those involved. That’s really not a lot to go on. Still, all camps should clear the air about this. Explanations need to be given and, yeah, apologies need to be made. Causing madness in hotel lobbies is simply inappropriate.
Again, this sort of thing happens. Boxing is a tough sport where some very tough people get very psyched up. Such incidents are perhaps probably only natural considering the frame of mind your average fighter must put himself in. Restraint, however, is needed – especially when innocent people can be hurt. And this is particularly true in the case of children. Some things can’t and shouldn’t be laughed off. And if Dominic Breazeale is right in his assertion of what happened on Saturday (and I’m not saying he is), people should be called out and held accountable for it.
In other words, this sort of thing should be saved for the ring.
More Columns
PBC on Fox Results: Breazeale, Hurd, and Deontay Wilder Win by Stoppage
By: William Holmes
Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series was televised live from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
Two world title fights were televised tonight as Deontay Wilder defended his WBC World Heavyweight Title against challenger Gerald Washington, and Tony Harrison faced Jarrett Hurd for the vacant IBF Junior Middleweight Title.
This was the third straight fight that Wilder fought in Birmingham, Alabama.
The opening bout of the night was between Izuagbe Ugonoh (17-0) and Dominic Breazeale (17-1) in the heavyweight division.
Ugonoh was giving up several inches in height to Breazeale, but looked like he was in incredible shape.
Ugonoh circled Breazeale in the opening round and attacked the body with an occasional combination to the head. Breazeale seemed bothered by the speed of Ugonoh early on.
Ugonoh continued with the good body work in the third round and Breazeale was missing wildly with his punches. Breazeale had difficulty catching up to Ugonoh, and when he did he was hit with a low blow. Ugonoh ended the second round with a good two punch combination.
The third round was action packed and Breazeale turned the tide of the fight in his favor with a right hand that sent Ugonoh to the mat. Ugonoh was able to get back to his feet and survive an onslaught from Breazeale; before answering back with hard thudding right hands that had Breazeale wobbly on his feet. Both boxers were throwing and landing heavy blows as the third round came to an end.
Breazeale pressed the pace in the fourth round and was walking Ugonoh down early on. Ugonoh was able to hurt Breazeale with a right hand to the temple that sent Breazeale falling forward in a failed attempt to hold onto Ugonoh. Breazeale was wobbly when he got back to his feet but was able to survive the round.
Breazeale was recovered by the beginning of the third round and landed two heavy straight right hands to the temple of Ugonoh that forced him to take a knee. Ugonoh looked badly shaken when he got to his feet and was met with several more hard right hands to the temple that sent him crashing outside the ring.
The referee had seen enough and jumped in to stop the fight at 0:50 of the fifth round.
Breazeale showed incredible heart in a highly entertaining fight to get the TKO victory.
The next bout was between Tony Harrison (24-1) and Jarrett Hurd (19-0) for the IBF Junior Middleweight Title.
The opening round was a feeling out round with both boxers throwing their jab in an attempt to find their range. Harrison did look like he had the quicker hands and wider variety of punches.
Hurd was chasing Harrison in the second round and was eating a steady stream of jabs. Hurd kept up the pressure in the third round but Harrison landed several good counters and check left hooks.
Harrison continued to display the quicker hands in the fourth round while Hurd appeared to do little but walk into the jabs of Harrison. Hurd was able to land a good right uppercut in the fifth round but was still out landed by his opponent.
Harrison picked up the pace again in the sixth round and at one point hard Hurd hurt and backed into a corner; but Hurd turned the tide of the fight back in his favor in the seventh round when he had Harrison badly hurt with good body shots and chopping right hooks.
Hurd kept up the pressure in the eighth round and appeared to be physically hurting Harrison with every punch that he landed. Hurd finally scored a thudding knockdown in the ninth round when he connected with a clean straight right hand that sent him crashing backwards to the mat.
Harrison got back up at the count of nine, but spit out his mouthpiece as the referee was talking with him. The referee immediately waived off the fight, despite the protest of Tony Harrison.
Jarrett Hurd wins by TKO at 2:24 of the ninth round.
The main event was between Deontay Wilder (37-0) and Gerald Washington (18-01) for the WBC Heavyweight Title.
Washington established his jab in the opening round and was causing Wilder some problems early on. Wilder was not used to facing boxers as tall as Washington and he had difficulty finding his openings in the second round and at times was moving backwards.
Washington landed some heavy body shots in the third round and was able to avoid the power shots of Wilder and had a good round. Washington was able to land some combinations in the fourth round and it looked like he had Wilder confused.
Wilder opened up the fifth round with a long reaching jab and a looping left hook, before he cracked a straight right hand to the head of Washington that sent him falling backwards on his butt onto the mat.
Washington was able to get up at the count of eight, but Wilder unloaded several hard shots to the head of a cowering Washington before the referee waived the fight off.
Deontay Wilder retains his WBC Heavyweight Title with a TKO victory at 1:45 of the fifth round.
After the fight, Deontay Wilder acknowledged the presence of WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker and stated he’s ready to fight him next and unify the titles.
More Headlines
Izuagbe Ugonoh set to Make his Mark against Dominic Breazeale: A Conversation with Trainer Kevin Barry
By: Eric Lunger
Live on FOX this Saturday night in Birmingham, Alabama, charismatic American heavyweight Deontay Wilder will make his fifth defense of the WBC championship belt against unbeaten Gerald Washington.The PBC card is stacked from top to bottom, but I am excited about the heavyweight clash between Dominic Breazeale (17-1, 15 KOss) and Izuagbe Ugonoh (17-0, 14 KOs). Even for a global sport like boxing, Izu, as he is known, has made a fascinating journey to reach this moment at the Legacy Arena. His parents emigrated from Nigeria to Poland, where Izu was born. After graduating from Jędrzej Śniadecki University School of Physical Education in Gdansk, Izu embarked on a successful kickboxing career, making the transition to boxing in 2010.
Ugonoh caught the eye of veteran trainer Kevin Barry in 2013, while sparring in Las Vegas withheavyweight prospect Joseph Parker of New Zealand. Parker captured his first world title in December of last year, and Barry hopes to bring Ugonoh along the same path. Boxinginsider.com caught up withKevinon Thursday, and hespoke about his relationship with this remarkable athletewho is about to lace up the gloves for the biggest fight of his career.
Barry met Ugonoh fortuitously, as he was searching for sparring partners for Joseph Parker: “In my early days with Parker, we were traveling around various gyms in Las Vegas sparring anyone we could possibly get some ring time with, and I heard that Izu was training with Kenny Adams. I rang Kenny and went over there, Joe and Izu sparred six rounds, and it was probably some of the best work we had in Vegas. We came away with the thought: we’ve got to get more of this;this kid can really fight!”
It didn’t take long for Barry to connect with the Polish-born fighter: “that went on for about six sparring sessions, and during that time we built up a bit of a rapport with him. As it worked out, both Joe and Izu were helping Bermane [Stiverne] prepare for Chris Arreola, and we became even closer friends. Things weren’t really working out for Izu; I think he had moved around about five different trainers, I believe that he just wasn’t happy. He came to me and asked, ‘would I be interested in working with him?’ It was my second year with Joe Parker, and Joe was living in my house. I didn’t want anything to interfere with the chemistry that we had going, so I sat down with Joe and I sat down with Izu. In the end, in October of 2014, I took Izu to New Zealand, and fought him down there. Then in November of 2014, I moved him into my house with my family and Joe.”
Barry brought Ugonoh along carefully: “we had five fights down there [in New Zealand] in 2014, and then five fights in 2015.” Ugonoh’s pace slowed down last year with two bouts, a fourth round TKO of Ricardo Ramirez and a second round stoppage most recently of Gregory Tony.
Barry is pleased with Izu’s progress: “he has waited very patiently for this opportunity. The last two years, he’s been fighting well within himself, he’s been learning his craft, becoming a better, more well-rounded fighter in all aspects of the game. This is our first fight with Al Haymon’s PBC, and it’s a big fight.”
The matchup is an exciting one for fans. Barry sees the fight this way: “it’s a great matchup of skill and size. Really, they sort of mirror each other: Izu is 30, Breazeale is 31; Izu is 17-0, Breazeale is 17-1. Both have 81 inch reaches, both have about 8 KO’s in the first three rounds.”
Barry concedes that Breazeale has a better resume: “Breazeale has fought better names, sure, Anthony Joshua, Amir Monsour, Fred Kassi.” But Barry sees his fighter as ready to compete at that level. “Look,” Barry said, “Izu would knock out out Monsour and Kassi.I tell everybody, I think Izu is the sleeper of the heavyweight division. On Saturday night, live on FOX and around the world, everyone will know who Izu is.”
Barry feels that Ugonoh is ready for the big stage: “He is a very talented fighter, a very intelligent fighter. He’s got explosive power and very heavy hands. Look, the big question mark is: hey, this is a big step up in class from where he’s been fighting. But this is a fight, when it was first addressed to Izu, he jumped at it with open arms, saying, ‘this is the fight I’ve been waiting for.’”
Barry and his fighter know that the stakes are high: “Izuknows that the spoils definitely go to the winner in this fight: a great performance will see with Izu or Breazeale go on a short list for a fight for the world title.”
More Headlines
Who is the Real Heavyweight Champion?
By: Ken Hissner
This Saturday WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder, 36-0 (35), of AL, USA, age 30, defends his title against Chris “Nightmare” Arreola, 36-4-1 (31), of CA, age 35. in Birmingham, AL, Wilder’s hometown. In Arreola’s last fight he failed a drug test. Wilder has defended against No. 12, No. 9, No. 7 and now another No. 9. He was scheduled to fight Alexander “Russian Vityaz” Povetkin, 30-1 (22), of RUS, age 36, who failed a drug test and passed on second time around. Povetkin is also a former Olympic Gold medalist.
Tyson Fury, 25-0 (18), UK, age 27, who holds both the WBA and WBO titles since defeating now former WBA, WBO and IBF world champion and Olympic Gold medalist Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko, 64-4 (53), UKR, age 40, who is now No. 2 in both the WBA and WBO. This took place in November of 2015. Fury was scheduled to give Klitschko a rematch but injured his hand in training. There may be a bout in September but no date has been set.
WBA World champion is Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne, 24-0 (17), AUST, age 37, having won the title in March stopping Ruslan “White Tyson” Chagov, 34-2-1 (21), of UZE/GER. The No. 1 contender and WBA interim champion is Luis “King Kong” Ortiz, 25-0 (22), CUBA/Miami, USA, age 37, is schedule to fight No. 3 Alexander Ustinov, 33-1 (24), RUS/Belarus, age 39. The winner may be in line to fight Browne.
IBF champion and Olympic Gold medalist Anthony Joshua, 17-0 (17), UK, age 26, recently won the title stopping Charles Martin who has dropped to No. 10 in the rankings. He defended his title with a stoppage of Dominic Breazele in June. His last four opponents had been unbeaten.
The No. 1 IBF and WBO contender is Joseph Parker, 19-0 (16), NZ/NV, USA, age 24, who is fighting No. 11 WBA contender Solomon Haumono, 24-2-2 (21), NZ, AUST, July 21st in NZ. Parker is No. 8 in the WBA and No. 4 in WBC. The winner could be in line to fight Joshua.
So you have a pair of champions fighting out of the UK in Fury and Joshua. One from Australia in Browne and one from USA in Wilder. It would make sense if Joshua fights the Fury-Klitschko winner. Browne to the fight Parker-Haumono winner and Wilder fight Povetkin. As noted quite a few of the top boxers are between 35 and over like Klitschko and Humono both 40. Ustinov is 39, Ortiz and Browne are 37. Povetin is 36 and Arreola 35. Wilder is 30, Fury 27, Joshua 26 and Parker 24.
Joshua is without a doubt the champion to reckon with in the future since only having 17 fights. Klitschko was considered the best holding three titles until a very poor showing losing to Fury who didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Wilder is still untested while the Povetkin fight was to be his toughest test until cancelled. Arreola is a big underdog to Wilder. Parker is high in two of the organizations but doesn’t look like he has champion qualities. Browne is a late comer who won his title in Russia and could be a spoiler. The most dangerous is probably Ortiz. Any way you look at it there are several who could achieve three titles as Klitschko did.
It’s also the feeling Klitschko will win the title back. Fury has mentioned this could be his last fight. So unless the champions fight one another it could be a long time until there is going to be an undisputed champion holding all four titles!
