INDIO, Calif. (Aug. 10, 2013) – Undefeated Deontay Wilder says two prayers in his dressing room before a fight.
One is a team prayer. The other, he says, is for his
opponent.
“I know I’m blessed
with God-given power,’’ he said after annihilating former world heavyweight
champion Sergei Liakhovich in
Friday’s main event on ShoBox: The New Generationfrom Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. “After our team prayer, I always
pray that I don’t hurt the guy I’m fighting, that if he has a family he will be
OK enough afterward to continue to provide for
them.’’
Living up to his reputation as
America ’s next great
heavyweight, the 6-foot-7, 27-year-old Wilder, of Tuscaloosa , Ala. , destroyed Liakhovich, stopping him with
two overpowering right hands at 1:43 of the first round. It was Wilder’s
29th knockout victory in as many starts. Liakhovich, of Scottsdale,
Ariz., by way of Vitebsk, Belarus, fell to 25-6 with 16
KO’s.
For Wilder, who didn’t start to box
until he was 21, it was his 17th first-round knockout since turning
professional in November 2008. Six of
his fights were over in the second, three were done in the third and three were
finished in the fourth. He has yet to go four full
rounds. Wilder is currently ranked No. 6 in the WBA and WBO, No. 15 in
the IBF and No. 30 in the WBC, but he figures to move up in each of
organizations after his latest, crushing performance.
Replay Is Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME
In co-featured fights, Francisco Vargas (17-0-1, 13 KO’s), of Mexico City, D.F., dominated
southpaw Brandon Bennett (16-1, 7 KO’s), of Cincinnati, Ohio, winning a collision of unbeaten junior
lightweights with an impressive 10-round unanimous decision and promising
unbeaten junior middleweight Jermall “The Hitman” Charlo (15-0, 10 KO’s),
of Houston, Texas, won his ninth in a row by knockout, flattening world-ranked Antwone Smith (23-4-1, 12 KO’s), of Miami, Fla., at 2:23 in the second
round.
“The victims of the two knockouts had
never been overwhelmed in that decisive a manner and that makes the wins of
Charlo and Wilder noteworthy,’’ ShoBox expert analyst Steve Farhood said following the
telecast. “For contrast, Vargas’ victory was a good ol’ fashioned beat-down. For
a fighter (Vargas) to go 10 hard rounds like that after suffering a terrible cut
and going past the fourth round for the first time was in its own way just as
impressive as the two devastating knockouts.’’
After missing with a left hand and then
landing a left, Wilder missed with a right before landing two hellacious right
hands that left Liakhovich on his back. For all intents and purposes, the
initial right hand to the side of the head would have been enough. But he caught
Liakhovich with another right as he was starting to go down. The referee stopped
the bout immediately. Liakhovich remained flat on his back for more than a
minute.
“I’m just blessed with tremendous
power,’’ said the personable, outgoing Wilder, a bronze medalist in the 2008
Olympic Games and the last American male boxer to medal in the Olympics. “I
don’t depend on it, but it is there. I think my real secret isn’t power. It’s my
speed. I think people hear about all my KO’s and tend to overlook
that.
“I think all my KO’s are helping me get
a lot of people’s attention and I love that. I embrace it. I think more people
are now starting to feel that maybe I can be the guy who brings the heavyweight
title back to America. Honestly, I would love to be that
guy.’’
Vargas, a 2008 Olympian for Mexico,
looked sensational against Bennett, who was walked into the ring by his lifelong
friend, budding boxing superstar-turned-rapper, Adrien Broner. Vargas, who’s appeared
three times on SHOWTIME EXTREME, won
the ShoBox debut for both boxers by
the scores of 99-91, 99-90 and 98-92.
There were no knockdowns in a fast-paced
affair, but the aggressive-minded Vargas, a crowd favorite and popular winner,
mostly had his way, landing countless combinations to the head and body despite
getting badly cut over his left eye in the fifth round by an unintentional head
butt.
“I knew
this fight was going to be complicated but I knew with pressure I could win,’’
said Vargas, an eight-time Mexican national amateur champion who didn’t turn pro
until he was 25. “I was scared when I got cut because in the ring you can't tell
how big of a cut it is. All the preparation and hard work that I did in the
mountains of Otomi in Mexico paid off. I am very happy with this fight and with
my performance.’’
Said Bennett: “His strength and speed
didn’t surprise me. I just didn’t stick to my game plan. I should have stayed in
the middle of the ring. I thought I had him after the first two rounds, but he
closed the gap on me in the third and that got me out of my game plan. Instead
of just throwing, I waited. Maybe we’ll meet again one
day.’’
Charlo, who
was making his ShoBox debut after two
appearances on SHOWTIME EXTREME, continues to emerge from his twin brother, Jermell’s shadow. His first scheduled
10-rounder ended shortly after he decked Smith with an overhand right hand.
Smith made it to his feet at the count of five, but the referee waved it off
moments later.
“I wasn’t
surprised at all that the fight ended so quickly,’’ Charlo said. “The fight went
exactly as I expected. Everything my trainer, Ronnie Shields, said would happen
happened. This is a great feeling. We accomplished everything we trained for and
did exactly what we wanted to do.’’
Smith, who
weighed in five pounds over the contracted weight of 154 pounds and could not
weigh more than 165 for the fight, said “my weight issues had nothing to do with
this. I felt normal – until I got hit.’’
Barry Tompkins called the ShoBox action from ringside with Farhood
and former World Champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
The telecast included
highlights from undefeated featherweight Gary Russell’s lopsided 10-round
decision over Juan Ruiz of Panorama
City, Calif. Russell, of Capitol Heights, Md., upped his record to 23-0; Ruiz is
23-13.
Friday’s tripleheader
will re-air this week as follows:
DAY
CHANNEL
Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 10 p.m.
ET/PT SHOWTIME EXTREME
The three fights will
be available ON DEMAND beginning today, Saturday, Aug.
10.