The last stand.. Deontay Wilder returns June 27th.

A ‘Tater man’ is a baseball term which refers to being a one shot home run hitter, in the late 80s, Ring magazine published a story referencing boxings equivalent of the quintessential ‘Tater man’ noting the one punch Ko artists of that period. If we were to create a fighter, most notably a heavyweight who perfectly fits the bill as a present day ‘Tater man’ we’d be doing a disservice if we didn’t include former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Interesting Fact: between turning pro in 2008 and his first championship fight in 2015, not one of Wilders 32 opponents heard the final bell. In fact in those 32 fights he’d only actively boxed 58 rounds an average of 1.8 rounds per fight. However following 10 successful title defences as WBC champion, the inevitable happened as is often the case with fighters that are considered invincible, he suddenly appeared very human in his 0-2-1 trilogy against Tyson Fury. However, in defeat Wilder displayed remarkable courage and grit in very physical fights where he was outclassed and quite frankly out-muscled, a hard pill to swallow considering the high expectation the American public had burdened on him for a decade. Nevertheless out of the gun-smoke Wilder showed impressive character in rebuilding himself with the plan being, a handful of high profile victories leading to a lucrative yet later than advertised meeting with another former champion in Anthony Joshua.. unfortunately the one weapon that had acted as his saving grace, suddenly seemed to have abandoned him, losing twice in fights where he struggled to pull the trigger and appeared a frail shadow of his former menacing self. The final defeat a shockingly stark knockout at the hands of Zhilei Zhang looked to many as the final curtain. Everyone in boxing had the opinion that a return to the highest level was too steep a mountain to climb for the Alabama fighter, for the first time in 16 years the hazy mist of retirement hung in the air as the bullets that had once shot Wilder to prominence, were no longer firing. What followed was a personal odyssey, Wilder separated himself from long time partner Telli Swift and withdrew from the public eye following some domestic abuse allegations. Wilder recently disclosed that he felt extremely betrayed by most of those that surrounded him when he was riding the crest of his championship wave and felt that he was too giving and enabled certain individuals to exist and drain his positive energy along with his finances. Deontay felt that he had been far too generous to everyone close to him and after some deep soul searching and introspective healing, emerged as a more selfish man, in an attempt to reclaim his passion for competitive boxing. So here we are, June 27th, and a low key return to the ring in Wichita Kansas where he takes on 24-5 Texan, Tyrell Herndon in a 10 round heavyweight bout that will be televised on USA network as a PPV feature. In 2018 Wilder fired then head coach Mark Breland and employed former foe Malik Scott to fill the void, this week Wilder chose to part ways with Scott albeit amicably. Deontay now considers Don House as his head coach, the man who ironically prepared Bermaine Stiverne to face him on the night he won the championship. Deontay Wilder isn’t the Bronze Bomber that terrorised the division a decade ago, but it’s interesting to see if the rebirth of a more clear minded version with and more positive outlook can navigate himself back into some kind of relevance in the division, Herndon isn’t the type of opponent to put a fire in Wilders belly, but it’s a chance to evaluate where Wilder stands within the bigger heavyweight landscape, regardless of anything Wilder remains a colourful and refreshing addition to a fairly stagnant division and will always bring his unique brand of tenacity to the table. 

Hrgovic v Adeleye, fortune favours the bold.

An intriguing heavyweight fight appears to have presented itself for the 16th August, Cacace v Ford show in Saudi Arabia, see’s the colourful yet enigmatic David Adeleye roll the dice against the highly ranked and proven Filip Hrgovic in an attempt to gatecrash the upper echelon of the division. Both fighters have lost a sole fight, albeit at very seperate levels, Filip dropping a game challenge to Daniel Dubois in what would have been for the vacant IBF championship, whilst David was more surgically exposed by Fabio Wardley in his first challenge for domestic honours a year prior. Filip has maintained a reputation as a rugged yet one paced workhorse, beating a moderate diet of opposition leading to his world ranking, winning an arguably controversial decision over Zhilei Zhang in possibly his most stern test aside from his loss. Adam Booth, the studious trainer of Adeleye has prior intel on Hrgovic going back to his days as head trainer for then WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. Booth employed Filip as a sparring partner alongside Richard Towers and Deontay Wilder and understands the pedigree that his new charge may face in such a dangerous challenge. Booth stated that Filip has some great attributes and even against Dubois, put together a fantastic start by utilising his jab and straight right hand, unfortunately Booth has noticed that he can fade and lose desire when fights become taxing, adding that Hrgovic never seemed to take that opportunity to step up as an accomplished heavyweight, tending to repeat his cycle of one paced pressure for as long as he can maintain it. Booth did add that the one time he did display the grit and fortitude to overcome adversity, was against Joe Joyce in his most recent showing, where he showed a willingness to fight through the discomfort of fatigue to subdue the notoriously resilient Joyce. Adeleye hasn’t seen anyone even close to the level of a Hrgovic, yet Booth explained that when you have a young, charismatic and spirited prospect, who can punch, when these types of rare opportunities present themselves, you’d be foolish not to afford yourself the gamble. David was due to rematch Jamie TKV in a repeat of their recent British title snoozefest, but opted to sidestep the less relevant match, to reach for higher honours. David is gifted and powerful, but he’s also complacent and hasn’t yet fulfilled his true potential, his best display being the 1 round annihilation of Sol Dacres last year, in a fight where he let his hands go and committed to the challenge. Booth understands heavyweight boxing and knows the enormity of the challenge that lies ahead for himself and Adeleye, but he also fully understands the rewards that come with victory at such an elevated stage, boxing is about timing and styles dictate the playout and outcome of fights, this one appears intriguing from both perspectives. 

Disturbing disclosure of fight fixing threats in Kazakhstan.

Daniela Leona Asenjo has revealed she was coerced into losing her IBO super flyweight world title rematch against Kazakhstan’s Angelina Lukas 15-1 (8 KOs) on May 31 in Taraz, Kazakhstan. Officially, Asenjo retired in the sixth round due to a back injury, but the Chilean  fighter and her coach, Alejandro Concha, allege they received death threats intended to ensure her opponents victory. The rugged Asenjo 17-5-3 (2 KOs) had previously fought through a broken sternum in a 2024 bout against Gabriella Fundora, the type of resilient form that lead onlookers to hold a level of suspicion regarding this recent mid fight submission. 

Almost a week after the match, Asenjo and Concha recounted a disturbing incident to journalist, Grupo Diario Sur. Both recalled an account, claiming that the fight’s promoter, an Azerbaijani national called Taryel Jafarov visited their hotel room, nervously placed a stack of U.S. dollars on Asenjo’s bed, and used a phone translator to say, “Asenjo isn’t going to win today, no way.” He allegedly added a more chilling message in writing, stating that If she wins, his life was in danger, they are going to cut my throat, and you won’t be able to leave Kazakhstan.”

Asenjo had previously fought Lukas 2 years ago, earning a points victory in Turkey. 

Wardley pulls out late knockout to extinguish Huni’s hopes or gatecrashing the party.

In what was to originally be heralded as a show stopping homecoming, Ipswich heavyweight Fabio Wardley 18-0-1 (17 Ko’s) was due to meet the colourful Jarrell Miller outdoors at Ipswich Towns, Portman road soccer stadium. Like most things in life, the schedule headliner fell apart and the unlikely Australian Justis Huni 12-0 (7 Ko’s) answered the late call to substitute as a considerable underdog. Last night the lightly regarded Huni outhustled and outlanded the heavy handed favourite with intelligent punch picking and fast feet for 9 rounds, before Wardley finally sprung to life with a perfectly timed overhand right to close the show and extinguish Huni’s dreams of a career defining upset and the WBA interim title strap. John Latham counted out the stricken visitor at 1.42 of the round. It’s likely now that Wardley meets Michael Hunter in the summer with a view to meeting the winner of the Usyk v Dubois match later in the year.