Deontay Wilder made it 29 knockouts in as many fights as he annihilated former world champion Sergei Liakhovich in one round of their scheduled ten round Heavyweight bout at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
Wilder landed a jab that was followed up by two crushing rights that sent Liakhovich down to the canvas. Liakhovich’s legs were twitching om the ground the fight was immediately stopped just 103 seconds into the fight.
Wilder, 224 lbs of Tuscaloosa, AL is now 29-0 with 29 knockouts. Liakhovich, 232 lbs of Scottsdale, AZ is now 25-6.
“I know I’m blessed with God-given power,” he said after destroying former world heavyweight champion Sergei Liakhovich in Friday’s main event on ShoBox: The New Generation from 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.”
“I’m just blessed with tremendous power,” said 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 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.”
In a spirited battle of previously undefeated Super Featherweights, Francisco Vargas scored a ten round unanimous decision over Brandon Bennett.
Bennett boxed well early has he jabbed to keep Vargas for the first round and a half. Vargas got into the fight by landing a couple of power shots towards the end of the round. Round four, the action picked up greatly with Vargas getting the better with his shots where he featured a body assault. Bennett stood his ground and landed quicker yet less powerful shots. Despite getting cut over the right eye in round five, Vargas had a big round as he contunied to work the body until he landed a big right at the end of the round.
In round six, Vargas continued to pound forward with a volume of combinations that were divided up between head and body. As the round progressed, Vargas continued to apply the pressure and the cut became less of a factor. Vargas continued to throw punches and was never threatened down the stretch.
Vargas outlanded Bennett 228 to 81.
Vargas, 130 lbs of Mexico City, MX won by scores of 99-91, 99-90 and 98-92 and is now 17-0-1. Bennett of Cincinnati is now 16-1
“I knew this fight was going to be complicated but I knew with pressure I could win,” said Vargas, an eight-time Mexican national 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.’
Jermall Charlo scored an impressive second round stoppage over Antwone Smith in a scheduled ten round Jr. Middleweight bout.
Charlo was dominant over Smith, who came in five pounds over the contracted weight In round two, Charlo landed a right to the head that sent Smith to the canvas. When Smith got got to his feet his legs were unsteady and referee Thomas Taylor stopped the bout at 2:23 of round two.
Charlo, 154 lbs of Houston is now 15-0 with 11 knockouts. Smith, 159 lbs of Miami is now 23-5-1.
“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.”
