By Jim Maltzman: Just moments ago Top Rank announced the loaded ‘Night of the Goliaths’ undercard for the July 24th trilogy match between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson ‘Gypsy King’ Fury and Deontay ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Wilder for their pay-per-view card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Interestingly, the undercard is stacked with three huge heavyweight
The excellent undercard for the Fury-Wilder III card will make it tempting for the fence-sitters, who have been debating whether they should splurge to purchase the fight event on pay-per-view.
Surprisingly, there are some boxing fans that are still reluctant to order the Fury vs. Wilder event, believing the fight will be another mismatch like the last one. But with today’s news of the splendid undercard, some of which may outshine the main event, it could encourage the fence-sitters to order the card.
The following heavyweight fights will be taking place on the undercard of the Fury vs. Wilder 3 card on July 24th:
1. Efe Ajagba vs. Frank Sanchez
In the co-feature bout, knockout artist Efe Ajagba (15-0, 12 KOs) will be taking the talented Cuban Frank Sanchez (18-0, 13 KOs) in a 10 round bout. This is a big step up for both of these guys, as they’ve been arguably coddled thus far during their respective careers.
Someone is going to get knocked out in this match because both of these guys have major punching power. Sanchez, 28, has superior boxing skills, but that might not help if Ajagba is able to land one of his big right-hand shots.
Sanchez has recent victories over these fighters:
- Nagy Aguilera
- Joey Dawejko
- Brian Howard
- Julian Fernandez
The former Cuban amateur star Sanchez has looked great since turning in 2017, but he hasn’t been matched against anyone decent that can test him adequately.
Ajagba, 6’6″, has looked devastatingly powerful since turning pro in 2017 after competing in the Olympics the previous year. Although Ajagba isn’t as technically proficient as Frank Sanchez, he makes up for it with his power.
This is a fight in which Sanchez may do well early but then wind up getting clipped later in the contest by one of Ajagb’s big right hands.
2. Robert Helenius vs. Adam Kownacki 2
In a rematch, heavyweight contenders Robert ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ Helenius (30-3, 19 KOs) and Adam ‘Babyface’ Kownacki (20-1, 15 KOs) will be meeting in a 12 round fight.
Helenius, 37, pulled off a big surprise fourth round knockout in their previous fight last year in March 2020 in New York.
Kownacki looked to be on his way to a victory early on in that clash, but Helenius landed a big shot that dropped him in the fourth. Moments later, Helenius finished off the still badly hurt Kownacki.
This is a fight that really didn’t need a rematch because Helenius proved that he had too much power for Kownacki to deal with.
You can argue that Kownacki’s promoters are choosing to take a big gamble by putting him back in with Helenius because this could go badly for him.
With Kownacki’s aggressive style of fighting, he’s going to be an easy target for the 6’6″ Helenius to land his big power shots all night. Unless Kownacki’s chin and defense have improved, he’s going to get taken out again.
3. Jared Anderson vs. Vladimir Tereshkin
Top Rank is taking a gamble by letting the young 21-year-old heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson (9-0, 9 KOs) battle unbeaten Vladimir Tereshkin (22-0-1, 12 KOs) in an eight round fight.
This is a considerable step up in class for the 6’4″ Anderson, and it’s going to be interesting to see if he’s able to deal with the experience of the 33-year-old Russian Tereskin.
Hopefully, Anderson’s confidence isn’t ruined if he gets beaten by Vladimir Tereshkin.