It was a day of heavyweights, on both sides of the Atlantic. While much of the eyes of the boxing world were on the Barclay Center, there was also a return to action for a former belt-holder. Very little changed in the heavyweight division, and as much talk was done about those fighters who were not in the ring that night, as the ones who were.
For Deontay Wilder, it was more of the same. Since winning a portion of the heavyweight title, Wilder seems to have lost his ability to score the early KOs which defined his road to the belt. he is also no less sloppy and amateurish than when he won. However, that eraser if a brutal right hand is still there, giving him a shot against any opponent whom he catches clean. Before laying Artur Szpilka flat with one right hook in the 9th round, he had barely hurt the Polish fighter, who had given a good account of himself. Unlike other Wilder opponents of late, who were mostly content to last rounds, Szpilka actually won a few.
Wilder showed the ability to adjust distance eventually, and win slower rounds, but little else. He may end up the udnerdog against a well-schooled fighter like Alexander Povetkin, but with that right hand, anything is possible. Povetkin was in attendance, as well as Tyson Fury, and Dereck Chisora. Povetkin kept quiet and well-mannered, as is his custom. Fury stormed the ring and challenged Wilder, which prompted Wilder to return his trash talk, and promise to "baptize" him. Both Wilder and Fury are mandated to face other opponents next, so they were fairly safe in trash talking, as they will not be immediately able to back it up.
Chisora was there to call out Prince Charles Martin, who won the IBF strap recently stripped from Tyson Fury. As is typical of the IBF, they hate being unified, and are very quick to strip anyone who asks for any type of extension. Martin won the title after a slow 3 rounds, when Czar Glazkov injured his knee. If we thought Martin was unproven before, now he is a belt-holder who is still unproven. A win over Chisora may do more to cement his entry into the top 10 than anything done in Brooklyn last Saturday.
David Haye returned to form, or close to it. The Hayemaker was always explosive when he wanted to be, and showed that 3 years away had not diminished his ability to take out a sub-par opponent. He scored a hard KO over Mark DeMori in only 1 round, and in a moment of honesty, did not call out the other champions. Haye preferred to say that he was sure they would not fight him unless forced, so he planned to work his way up the rankings. With David Price essentially finished, Tyson Fury spoken for, and Anthony Joshua on a "protection plan" of development, it is unlikely Haye will be able to make much noise on the UK domestic front. It may finally be time for him to be seen stateside.
