adminNEW YORK. — Former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round as the ”Bronze Bomber” made a winning return to boxing in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday night.
The American (36) was stepping into the ring for the first time since his second successive knockout defeat by Tyson Fury last October.
And turns out Wilder’s surgically repaired right hand is just fine, as Helenius discovered in less than a round on Saturday night in Brooklyn.
The former heavyweight champion was in the unusual position of fighting his way back into the title picture following consecutive losses to Fury over the last two years, and responded by flattening the Swedish-Finnish fighter with a right counterpunch near the end of the opening round.
Coming into Saturday’s bout, there was lingering concern over Wilder’s surgically repaired right hand — one of the most dangerous weapons in boxing, which he broke somewhere in the middle of last year’s loss to Fury. After dropping the undefeated champion twice in the fourth round, Wilder’s right hand appeared to lose its impact over that fight’s final frames.
That was not the case in Brooklyn on Saturday, when Wilder was admittedly surprised by his own power. ”When I hit him, as you can see, I was going for another one,” said Wilder, who got emotional discussing the knockout and Helenius’ well being.
”We don’t know if Robert’s gonna be the same after this,” Wilder added later. ”Robert could be the bread winner of his family, but if he can’t do it, who will?”
Helenius did walk out of the ring after a few frightening moments on the canvas.
In a way, Saturday night was about Wilder (43-2-1) re-establishing his vicious right, and by extension, his status as a titan of the heavyweight division. And Helenius, who was knocked out on a right from Gerald Washington in 2019, may have been the perfect candidate to take that punch.
Once again, Helenius was dropped by a right on Saturday, only Wilder appear to get full extension on the punch.
”I set him up. I allowed him to reach and when he reached I attacked,” Wilder said.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Wilder may have been justifying Saturday’s US$74.99 PPV price tag in the US, where fans spent nearly as much to see the third fight of his trilogy with Fury just one year earlier. Inflation aside, it’s difficult to account for the similar prices, given Fury’s status as one of the world’s most recognisable athletes compared to Helenius’ relative anonymity outside boxing circles and his native Scandinavia.
It’s not that Helenius was picked to be an easy opponent. He’s just as tall as the 6-foot-7 Wilder and has a comparable reach, four inches shorter than the former Olympic bronze medalist.
And aside from his impressive frame, Helenius boasted a respectable 31-3 record entering Saturday. He went the distance with Dillian Whyte in 2017, losing an unanimous decision. And aside from his 2019 knockout loss to Washington, Helenius has been dominant ever since. Most impressively, he scored two knockout wins over Poland’s Adam Kownacki (20-3) in 2020 and 2021, the first of which came in Brooklyn, where Helenius was facing a large contingent of Polish fans.
”Robert has the heart of a champion and I knew what he was capable of. I didn’t take him lightly at all. I know that he really wanted this,” Wilder said. ”When you fight Deontay Wilder, you have to have your ‘A plus plus’ game.”
But for all of his physical attributes and experience, Helenius wasn’t even a speed bump for Wilder, who is still three years shy of 40, when he’s said he wants to retire.
As for his place among the heavyweight elites, Wilder is still looking up at title holders Fury (WBC) and Oleksandr Usyk (WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO), who may be on course to face each other in 2023, according to Top Rank president Todd DuBoef.
The Gypsy King had called out Usyk for a fight before the end of the current year, but the Ukrainian wouldn’t agree to a deal, citing a desire to step away from boxing after beating Anthony Joshua in August.
”I think both fighters want it, the fans want it and it’s the crowning moment for the heavyweight champion,” DuBoef told Sky Sports.
— BBC Sport.
Online Reporter