(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) By Scott Gilfoid: WBC Continental Americas heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (29-0, 29 KO’s) is now gunning for a world title to bring it back to the United States after his sensational 1st round knockout victory over former WBO heavyweight champion Sergei Liakhovich (25-6, 16 KO’s) last night at the Fantasy Springs Casino, in Indio, California, USA.
It only took the talented 6’7” Deontay a jab followed by 2 concussive right hands to put Liakhovoch down on his back on the canvas. Referee Tom Taylor immediately stopped the fight at 1:43 when he saw that Liakhovich was badly hurt on the canvas.
Deontay said after the fight “I think my real secret isn’t power. It’s my speed. I think people hear about all my KO’s and tend to overlook that…I can be the guy who brings the heavyweight title back to America.”
I think it’s pretty much academic at this point that Deontay will be the guy that brings back one or more of the heavyweight titles back to America. However, it’s going to be a waiting game before he eventually gets a title shot against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, because he’s not going to volunteer to face Deontay.
It’ll take Deontay being a mandatory challenger before he gets a crack at Wladimir, and even then, I can see Wladimir asking the sanctioning bodies for permission to bypass facing Deontay so that Wladimir can slip in optional title defenses against lower ranked contenders like we just saw with him facing Francesco Pianeta instead of Alexander Povetkin.
Wladimir is really Deontay’s only competition in the division. I think Deontay would destroy a guy like Kubrat Pulev, because all that guy does is jab and clinch. He has no power, and he’d be getting nailed by Deontay’s right hand just Liakhovich was last night. Pulev would be another Liakhovich. David Haye is too small, Chris Arreola is too fat and slow, and both Povetkin and Bermane Stiverne are too short.
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