Deontay Wilder Bombs Siarhei Liakhovich
Photos by Tom Casino for Showtime
by Gautham Nagesh
Showtime’s ShoBox series is the mill that separates the true prospects from boxing’s multitudes of also-rans. Unbeaten Alabama heavyweight Deontay Wilder (above) has now aced that test twice, after destroying Siarhei Liakhovich with his hellacious right hand in the first round on Friday night in Indio, Calif. The performance was further proof of what some of us have suspected for years: Wilder is America’s best hope in boxing’s glamor division.
Wilder is the last American man to win an Olympic medal in boxing. He is 6'7" and looks every bit a sculpted hulk that befits the name “Bronze Bomber.” I have seen him fight once in person, in Cincinnati two years ago while ringside for Ring Magazine. The right hand he flattened local heavy David Long with remains the hardest punch I have ever seen land in person. The sheer length and bazooka-like explosion of his right should make him the most hyped prospect in the sport, deservedly or not.
Despite 29 knockouts in 29 fights, you rarely see Wilder mentioned among the sport’s future kingpins, mostly due to the peculiarities of those that cover the sport. Boxing writers believe it is their right to mete attention and praise on those they feel deserve it. To do so, one must sign with a big promoter, journey faithfully to Las Vegas or the East Coast, and ply your trade under their watchful eye on the undercard of some mid-level televised show. Knocking out no-names in the Deep South, as Wilder did while he learned his craft, is a sure ticket to anonymity and scorn from the fight press.
[[MORE]]Despite his obvious gifts and achievements in Beijing, Wilder was viewed as too skinny downstairs and too crude, another raw prospect just waiting to be unmasked. That may still happen, particularly if he steps in the ring with the likes of the Klitschkos. But he has done enough to deserve the attention that will no doubtless come his way after three increasingly impressive performances on TV in the U.S. and U.K. Wilder has done more than any American heavyweight prospect besides Bryant Jennings, and appears to have the dynamic punching power that Jennings lacks.
In truth, someone should have already figured out that Wilder is headliner-worthy right now, provided he is paired against the right opposition. Managed correctly, he could have been a fixture on ESPN’s Sportscenter, scoring regular one-punch, Nintendo-worthy knockouts. No matter. By now the boxing world has woken up to the fact that Wilder may be flawed, but he is easily the hardest puncher this side of Berlin.
Liakhovich found that out the hard way at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. Wilder landed only a handful punches, but it was two rights that did most of the damage. Liakhovich came in dry and likely expecting punishment, but he started competently enough. He tried to jab his way into the taller man, but Wilder used his longer reach to keep the Belorussian at bay.
Halfway through the round, Wilder showed how devastating a basic one-two combination can be, when deployed by a giant. A left hook caught Liakhovich from the outside, followed by a one-two that drove the White Wolf into the ropes. Wilder followed him with a final right hand to the chin that shook Liakhovich to his core and dropped him to the mat, where Liakhovich’s legs spasmed involuntarily in frightening testament to Wilder’s raw power.
It took several moments for Liakhovich to regain his senses, but he thankfully appeared to have recovered. When a veteran fighter’s health is your first concern after a two-punch, first-round knockout, you usually have something special on your hands. Wilder could easily be dropped and stopped in his next fight, but I have a hard time believing that anyone among the top heavyweights could take his right hand to the chin without at least backing up. That sort of power is not a panacea for everything else in the ring, but it is a tremendous equalizer when a fighter has other glaring holes.
The natural step would be for Wilder to take on a true contender, someone ranked in the top ten by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. But I do not think that is immediately in the cards, nor would I blame Wilder and his handlers for dawdling. There is no telling what would happen to Wilder if he got into the ring with the likes of Tony Thompson, a cagey veteran with proven world-class ability. Far better for Wilder to cash in on his tremendous box office potential by building his name a bit first. One loss would likely collapse the emerging hype, which is why now is the time to take advantage against better but still mediocre competition.
If that is a cynical viewpoint of matchmaking, then perhaps it also reflects my belief that more time in the ring would serve Wilder well. His quick knockouts may be entertaining, but they’re not great for improving his skills, particularly his defense. The Bronze Bomber needs rounds, and they should keep throwing him out there against good but not great opposition until he gets them. Unlike most other writers, I would rather see the best Wilder emerge before he takes a step up, rather than rush him into certain failure.
Wilder’s forceful victory was the perfect coda for a televised triple-header that featured a pair of abbreviated stoppages sandwiched around a one-sided beating that went the distance. Junior middleweight Jermall Charlo of Houston continued to build his burgeoning reputation with an impressive knockout of veteran spoiler Antwone Smith in the second round of the TV opener. The win was further proof that Charlo is on the fast track toward becoming a contender at 154 lbs.
Jermall and his twin brother Jermell are both prototypical prospects, blessed with physical gifts and extremely comfortable inside the ropes. Charlo controlled Smith easily with his jab from the outside for most of two rounds, then scored with a counter right over Smith’s jab late in the 2nd round. Charlo followed immediately with a double jab followed by a hard right to the side of Smith’s head, sending him tumbling sideways into the canvas. Smith rose on unsteady legs, but the referee wisely decided against letting him continue.
Charlo didn’t get much chance to showcase his skills, which are considerable. Still, his handling of Smith, who has stopped other unbeaten prospects, shows Charlo is no pretender. Expect both twins to start finding their way toward better competition soon. Jermall in particular is considered the more aggressive and harder-hitting of the two, which means he’s more likely to find himself in a big fight soon. Considering the toolset he has shown to date, I wouldn’t bet against him.
Francisco Vargas used his superior strength and will to dominate Brandon Bennett of Cincinnati in the swing bout at junior lightweight. Vargas overcame a slow 1st round and walked through Bennett’s slapping punches on his way to an one-sided but entertaining 10-round unanimous decision. From the middle rounds on, the only suspense was whether Bennett’s trainer Mike Stafford would end the carnage or allow his man to see the final bell.
Bennett started out boxing effectively, after being escorted to the ring by stablemate and welterweight contender Adrien “The Problem” Broner (above left). He managed to keep Vargas away with the jab and counter effectively for the 1st round, but unfortunately the strategy began failing in the 2nd. That’s when Vargas, realizing his opponent lacked the power to turn him back, began walking through Bennett’s attack.
Bennett found himself standing and trading at times, but his punches had little impact on the Mexican. Meanwhile, Vargas punished Bennett to the body, and forced him to hold constantly to avoid trading on the inside. Bennett appeared to be hurt at various points through the fight, but to his credit he stayed on his feet and refused to stop punching despite being woefully out-gunned. Even the slickest boxer will struggle to last ten rounds against a stronger opponent that barely blinks when punches lands.
Capitol Heights, Md. featherweight Gary Russell Jr. had seemingly graduated to main event-level fights, but he found himself back on the untelevised portion of the card on this evening against Juan Ruiz. According to most reports and highlights, Russell won a workmanlike ten-round decision while shutting Ruiz out on the scorecards. We’ll have more on Russell and the considerable criticism he has attracted on the site soon.
Finally, publicist Lorin Chvotkin passes along a bit of sad news for followers of this site. Stiff Jab favorite Jerry “Slug” Forrest sustained his first loss at heavyweight on the undercard, getting stopped by the unbeaten Gerald Washington in the 2nd round of scheduled 8. Forrest is an athletic heavyweight from Newport News, Va. with good skills. He was apparently doing well before Washington, a former USC tight end managed by Al Haymon, caught him with a huge right hook to end it.
Getting stopped is one of the hazards of the job for heavyweights, so we’re sure Forrest will recover like his stablemate Seth Mitchell has managed to. Washington might be worth keeping an eye on; he’s definitely got our attention after scalping Slug in just his ninth professional fight.
Oh, and apparently Shane Mosley and a monkey were ringside. Only in boxing.
