Photo by Stephanie Trapp/Showtime
Saturday, January 16, 2016 was that day of the Heavyweights.
Deontay Wilder, Artur Szpilka, Tyson Fury, Charles Martin, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Dereck Chisora and David Haye all made headlines for different reasons.
Scroll through to take a look at the five things we learned about the Heavyweight division after Saturday night’s fights.
Alphabet Soup
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The IBF “title bout” between Charles Martin and Vyacheslav Glazkov was crap–as expected.
First of all, the IBF’s decision to strip Tyson Fury for not immediately facing Glazkov was laughable, so it’s only right that the title fight they ushered in for the vacant strap ended up being so horrible.
Glazkov suffered a pretty nasty injury–which is no laughing matter–but that’s not what we’re focusing on. Instead, you have a guy in Martin who by all accounts seems likable, but also seems to be out of his league against the other champs (more on that later).
Martin’s victory leaves us with yet another meaningless Heavyweight title holder.
Deontay Wilder’s Power Is Scary
A lot has been made of Deontay Wilder’s record, 34 knockouts in 35 fights before he defeated Artur Szpilka this past Saturday. The discussion has mostly been led by critics who say Wilder’s knockout percentage isn’t all that authentic because of the level of opposition.
While that may be true, Wilder blasted a solid contender with a sick knockout that will certainly be in the discussion for Knockout of the Year awards in December.
Wilder struggled a bit early, but in the end he did what he does–sent Szpilka to la-la land.
Charles Martin’s 15 Minutes Are Ticking
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Charles Martin barely broke a sweat before being crowned the new IBF Heavyweight champion on Saturday night. That crappy ending was not his fault, but from what he showed it certainly doesn’t seem like his title-time will last long if he gets his wish of trying to unify the titles.
Deontay Wilder, Alexander Povetkin and Tyson Fury all easily beat Martin right now.
If Martin goes on a PBC tour in 2016 against the likes of Gerald Washington, Travis Kauffman or Chris Arreola, he could enjoy a year as champ. But if they throw him in against any of the big boys it’ll be a short-lived title reign.
There’s Only One Tyson Fury
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“What you got to say about that, Deontay?” Tyson Fury is maniac–in a good way.
He’s certainly not for the faint of heart, but if you like Adrien Broner-ish outside-of-the ring antics and off-the-cuff comments, Fury is your guy.
Fury charged the ring after Deontay Wilder’s victory, exchanged pleasantries with the WBC champ, and then started stripping his clothes off in a rage like a WWE wrestler.
Fury also showed off his crappy tie tying skills.
During the post-fight press conference, Wilder admitted that Fury is good for the Heavyweight division because he keeps people talking. I couldn’t agree more.
Nothing Beats a Heavyweight Knockout
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Deontay Wilder definitely had the most eye-popping knockout at Barclays Center on Saturday night, but earlier in the day a familiar name reemerged at the O2 Arena in London.
After sitting on the sidelines for nearly three-and-a half years, David Haye made his triumphant return to the ring against Mark de Mori of Australia.
You couldn’t pick de Mori out of a line up if your life depended on it, but that’s besides the point.
It’s not the opponent that matters, it’s the highlight-reel knockout. Haye flattened de Mori like he was supposed to and just like that you’ve got people lining up the brash Brit to face Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua and probably The Incredible Hulk.
I’m still pissed for what Haye did–or better yet didn’t do–against Wladimir Klitschko, but regardless of that wetting-the-bed performance, if he’s close to his 2012 form he could give a lot of guys trouble and give fans some more knockouts to drool over.
