By Mark Eisner: WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) officially closed the chapter in his series of fights with Deontay ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) by stopping him in the 11th round on Saturday night in their trilogy fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Fury knocked the badly hurt and tired Wilder down in the 11th round to get the stoppage. Earlier in the fight, Fury dropped Deontay in the third round and had him close to being stopped.
Deontay came roaring back to flatten Fury twice in the fourth round, and perhaps would have stopped him if the round hadn’t ended.
Fury later stunned Wilder in the seventh and he returned the favor. In the 10th round, Fury dropped Wilder with a chopping right hand.
Near the end of the round, the ‘Gypsy King’ nailed Wilder with a big uppercut while they were in close. After the 10th, it was clear Wilder had nothing left in the tank and was easy pickings for Fury in the 11th.
Boxing News 24 will be giving live updates below of all the action as it comes in.
- Unbeaten heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez (19-0, 13 KOs) gave the previously undefeated Efe Ajagba (15-1, 12 KOs) in defeating him by a one-sided 10 round unanimous decision. The scores were 98-91, 97-92, and 98-91. The Cuban Sanchez, who looks at least 12 years older than his chronological age of 29, dropped Ajagab in the seventh round. From there, Sanchez used his quick feet, pin-point potshots, and counter punching to dominate the very limited 6’6″ Ajagaba. This fight was disappointing, considering that it failed to live up to the huge expectations it had. Ajagba was nowhere near skilled enough to defeat Sanchez. Had Ajagba gone for broke in firing power shots with mean intentions, he might have won, but he looked like he was afraid of being countered by the Cuban. Sanchez has a lot of talent, but he’s going to have to change his style if he wants to become a fan favorite. Rival promoters will likely freeze Sanchez out due to his defensive style of fighting. If Sanchez is really 29, he’s going to have to make a move because he’s looking very old for his age.
- In an arguably needless rematch, heavyweight contender Robert Helenius (31-3, 19 KOs) defeated Adam Kownacki (20-2, 15 KOs) by a sixth round disqualification. The 32-year-old Kownacki was DQ’ed by referee Celestino Ruiz for throwing excessive low blows. The Polish heavyweight Kownacki began throwing low blows in the third round in what appeared to be a strategic move to slow Helenius down because the 6’6 1/2″ ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ was hammering him at will with huge shots to the head. Kownacki looked desperate to try and get Helenius off of him. Hence, the low blows coming in fast and furious. Going into the sixth round, Kownacki’s trainer asked him to show him something because he was going to stop the fight due to him taking too much of a beating. The loss for Kownacki is his second in a row. In his previous fight, Kownacki was stopped in the fourth round by Helenius last year in March 2020. In that fight, Kownacki was doing well through the first three rounds, but then fell apart in the fourth after getting clipped. Tonight, Kownacki didn’t look good at all, and it was clear that his confidence was shot from his previous defeat to Helenius.
- Heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson (10-0, 10 KOs) annihilated the out-of-shape-looking previously undefeated Vladimir Tereshkin (22-1-1, 12 KOs) by a second round knockout. The 21-year-old Anderson stunned Tereshkin with a big right hand to the head, causing him to back and go into a shell. Anderson then teed off on the 33-year-old Russian Tereshkin with a series of hard shots that led to the referee Kenny Bayless waving it off. It was a premature stoppage, but he didn’t like the body language of Tereshkin by the looks of it. The way Tereshkin covered up, he was hurt and he was going to get hammered until he fell if not for Bayless stepping in. The time of the stoppage was at 2:51 of round two. Anderson works as a sparring partner for Tyson Fury, and he was rumored to have beaten him up during training camp going into the postponed July 24th fight with Wilder. Although Anderson recently denied battering Fury, it’s believed that he didn’t want to make him look bad by revealing what happened during their sparring sessions.
- Super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga (18-0, 16 KOs) had a tougher time than expected in defeating former world title challenger Marcelo Esteban Coceres (30-3-1, 16 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision. The scores were 96-93, 96-93, and 96-93. Berlanga was hurt in the sixth round and dropped in round nine after getting nailed by some heavy shots from the tough 30-year-old Argentinian Coceres. This fight was close enough to where it have gone either way. The judges gave it to the A-side fighter Berlanga, 24, but Coceres could have been given the nod because he was hurting Berlanga and took control of the fight in the second half. Two years ago, Coceres gave former WBO 168-lb champion Billy Joe Saunders all he could handle before being stopped in the 11th round in November 2019. Saunders was losing the fight on one of the judges’ scorecards, and he looked worried going into the 11th. If not for the 11th round knockout, Saunders might have been beaten. For Berlanga, this was his second consecutive fight in which he was forced to go the distance after scoring 16 straight first round knockouts to start his career. Earlier this week, Berlanga was shockingly calling himself a star already, saying that he’ll face Canelo Alvarez without two years. After tonight’s performance, Berlanga would likely lose to the top fighters in the division like David Benavidez, Canelo, Caleb Plant, David Morrell Jr., and Carlos Gongora. Berlanga isn’t ready for any of those fighters right now.
- Vladimir Hernandez (13-4, 6 KOs) pulled off a big upset tonight in defeating former IBF/IBO/WBA Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams (27-3-1, 16 KOs) by a 10 round split decision. The scores were 96-94, 97-93 for Hernandez, and 96-94 for Williams. Boxing News 24 scored it for Hernandez 96-94. The loss for J-Rock Williams was his second consecutive. Last year in January, Jeison Rosario dethroned J-Rock in a fifth round knockout. Tonight, Williams, 31, looked like a shell of his former self, getting dominated by a fighter that he should have been able to beat with ease. Hernandez isn’t a top talent, yet he did a number on this version of J-Rock.
- The talented two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez (8-1, 4 KOs) grounded out a 10 round unanimous decision win over previously unbeaten Orlando Gonzalez Ruiz (17-1, 10 KOs). The scores were 99-91, 99-91, and 97-93. The fight was competitive early, but the 27-year-old Robeisy picked Gonzalez apart in the second half to cruise to a lopsided win. For Robeisy, it was his eighth straight win since losing his pro debut to Adan Gonzalez.
- Heavyweight Viktor Vykhryst (8-0, 6 KOs) stopped Mike Marshall (6-1-1, 4 KOs) in the third round. Vykhryst knocked Marshak down in the second and another time in the third. The fight was halted after Marshall was knocked down in the third. The time of the stoppage was at the 1:49 mark.
- Featherweight prospect Bruce Carrington (1-0) defeated Cesar Cantu (3-3) by a four round unanimous decision. This was the pro debut for Cantu, who won by the scores 40-36, 40-36 and 40-36.
Preview:
Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) wants to get back at Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) for his humiliating loss from a year in a seventh round. This might be the final time that Wilder can fight Fury, and he’s going to have to make the most of it.
Main card:
- Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder
- Robert Helenius vs. Adam Kownacki
- Efe Ajagba vs. Frank Sanchez
- Edgar Berlanga vs. Marcelo Esteban Cocernes
- Jared Anderson vs. Vladimir Tereshkin
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will be taking on Deontay Wilder in what should be an exciting fight tonight on ESPN+ PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Wilder: Fury is out of shape
“First of all, he’s nervous, he’s fat, he’s out of shape, he’s disrespectful,” said Wilder’s wife Telli Swift to ESNEWS in reacting to Tyson Fury and his behavior and how he looked during the weigh-in.
“He didn’t even look at the audience. He didn’t respect by looking at the audience. He’s not ready, he’s out of shape, he’s nervous, and he can’t sit down and stay calm.
“I just feel that Fury doesn’t know what to do because he can’t stay calm. I told him exactly what it is. He looked fat and he didn’t like it,” said Telli when asked what she said that got Fury angry during the press conference.
“He’s out of shape, he ain’t ready for it,” said Wilder when asked why Fury didn’t take his shirt off during the weigh-in. “If you look at my body and his body, there’s no comparison.
“I think Wilder is coming for vengeance, and with Fury, we’re looking at a points decision is going his way,” said George Kambosos Jr. to Fighthype.
Deontay must use his jab
“I think he might play it safe, but then again, Wilder has got that one-punch devasting power and is obviously looking to make a statement after he was embarrassed in the second fight.
“Wilder has got to establish that jab, and he’s got to work a little bit of levels. I see a lot of videos of him working the under and the rolls. I don’t think that’s going to work. He’s not a Mike Tyson type of style.
“He’s rangy and he’s long. I think he has to work off that jab and shoot to the body and he’s got to dig into some really hard right hands to the body and then try to land that right hand.
“Fury is a very good boxer and very awkward, and he could use his size advantage again. Wilder has to establish a good jab. He can’t just bank on that right hand. You got to pop that jab and then shoot that right hand. He might land it,” said Kambosos.