A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
It took only one punch for Deontay Wilder to reassert himself as a heavyweight of consequence.
His comeback fight against Robert Helenius was less than three minutes old when a trimmed down Wilder did what Wilder does, connecting on a short right hand – the third and final punch he landed — that put his opponent to sleep Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Just like that, a rejuvenated Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) was back to destroying big, bad men with arguably the hardest punch in the history of the sport. As they say, the power is the last thing to go. And Wilder’s power obviously hasn’t gone anywhere.
That doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about his two devastating knockout losses at the hands of nemesis Tyson Fury in 2020 and last year, the first of which cost him his WBC title.
Wilder merely reminded us by eviscerating a solid opponent in Helenius (31-4, 20 KOs) that he remains a threat to anyone because of the power in his right hand and his ability to deliver it, including three-belt titleholder Oleksandr Usyk.
So what’s next? That’s difficult to say.
Usyk, who won his belts by upsetting Joshua and then beating him again in their rematch, has expressed interest in facing Wilder. However, I imagine his first priority remains a showdown with Fury for the undisputed championship.
Wilder, who wants to fight three more years, doesn’t seem to be fixated on anyone. He just wants big fights, presumably because he knows a shot at another world title will come sooner rather than later.
That could include Usyk if a fight with Fury can’t be made. My personal favorite would be a meeting with former unified champion Anthony Joshua, who also has paralyzing power. And Andy Ruiz Jr, Joe Joyce and Frank Sanchez are among other interesting possibilities.
The only thing we know with certainty is that Wilder has our attention once again. Whomever he faces next, a lot of people will be watching in anticipation of another spectacular knockout.
“Deontay Wilder is back,” he said immediately after his victory on Saturday. “The excitement in the heavyweight division is back. There’s no heavyweight division without Deontay Wilder. That’s a fact.”
BAD
There was nothing bad about undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney’s performance on Saturday in Australia, where he outclassed George Kambosos Jr. a second time en route to unanimous decision victory.
This item is being filed under “bad” because I’m not sure the rematch should’ve happened at all.
I understand the concept of a rematch clause, one of which was included in the contract Haney signed before outpointing Kambosos in June. Haney did the right thing by honoring his agreement.
However, there was no point from a boxing standpoint. The fight was a waste of time and energy, aside from any money it generated.
Haney won by scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 in the first fight, which also took place down under. I scored it 119-109, 11 rounds to one. So I have no idea what the 116-112 judges were watching.
On Saturday (Sunday in Australia) Haney was even more dominating, winning 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110. Boxing Junkie also scored the second fight 119-109.
Kambosos never gave up. He simply doesn’t have the tools to compete against a thoroughbred like Haney, who, at 23, has to be considered among the Top 20 fighters pound for pound in the world.
That was obvious in the first fight, which, again, made the second one unnecessary.
Now it’s on to genuine challenges for Haney. The most-intriguing potential opponents are Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko, two supremely talented, experienced all-around boxers who would make for super fights with Haney.
Only if fights like those materialize will we truly know how good Haney is. Victories over Kambosos – as impressive as they were – only told us so much.
WORSE
Helenius’s fate is an example of how cruel boxing can be.
The 38-year-old Finn had been on a roll going into his unfortunate meeting with Wilder, having brutally knocked out once-promising heavyweight Adam Kownacki in back-to-back fights to regain his status as a legitimate title contender.
And he was in a good place both physically and mentally. He was 100% healthy for the first time in years, he had a great training camp, he was genuinely confident … and then he was unconscious.
The sight of him lying on the canvas, staring blankly at the rafters at Barclays Center, would’ve been difficult to see under any circumstances. The fact he had his hopes of becoming his country’s first heavyweight champion dashed in such a violent fashion made it even worse.
This is boxing. One minute you’re in a groove, then next you’re forced to make difficult decisions.
Helenius isn’t ancient by heavyweight standards. And it wasn’t as if he took a prolonged beating against Wilder, who landed only three punches, according to CompuBox. He could continue to fight if that’s what he wants.
At the same time, it took him years grueling, painful work in the gym and ring to climb back into title contention. Does he want to go through that process again as he approaches his 40s?
I’m guessing that the answer to that question is no. We’ve probably seen the last of Robert Helenius in the ring.
RABBIT PUNCHES
Claressa Shields continues to do her part in lifting women’s boxing to new heights. She and Savannah Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) delivered a terrific brawl on the all-female card Saturday at O2 Arena in London. Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) deserved the unanimous decision victory to become undisputed 160-pound champion – she landed the cleaner punches – but the fight was compelling and competitive throughout, which is a credit to both women. Marshall should be proud of her performance. Is Shields the GWOAT? I still apply that label to Hall of Famer Lucia Rijker, who you had to see to understand how good she was. Shields is definitely one of the two or three best today and no woman is more important than she is in terms of what she does for women’s boxing. … Who knew? Caleb Plant (22-1, 13 KOs) has earned the reputation of being an excellent boxer and athlete, which led him to the top of the 168-pound division. He showed us something new against Anthony Dirrell (34-3-2, 25 KOs) on the Wilder-Helenius card, a one-punch knockout of an elite opponent. He was winning a rough fight through eight-plus rounds when he connected on a left hook (almost an uppercut) that instantaneously knocked out Dirrell in Round 9. That was a much needed statement following his own knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez in May. Plant is now in position to get a big fight against the likes of David Benavidez and Jermall Charlo. … I understand that he and Dirrell generated genuine bad blood between them but I didn’t like his behavior after the stoppage, repeatedly acting out the process of digging a grave. Dirrell was still struggling to get up at that point. I’ll chalk Plant’s actions up to adrenaline … and hope he doesn’t behave that way again. … Alycia Baumgardner (13-1, 7 KOs) defeated Mikaela Mayer (17-1, 5 KOs) by a split decision in a 10-round bout to unify three 130-pound titles in a break-through victory for her on the Shields-Marshall card. The scores were 96-95, 96-95 and 93-97. I scored it 95-95, a draw. Baumgardner seemed to say afterward that she wasn’t interested in a second fight with the now-former titleholder. Mayer probably earned one.
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