Deontay Wilder made the 6th defense of the WBC Heavyweight title with a 1st round annihilation of former champion Bermane Stiverne at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
After a lackluster first two minutes of the fight, Wilder dropped Stiverne with a right hand. Stiverne got up only to be drilled with another blistering right that sent him to the canvas for a 2nd time. Wilder jumped on Stiverne and landed a vicious combination that dumped Stiverne down on the canvas on the ropes and the fight was stopped at 2:59.
Wilder, 220 lbs of Tuscaloosa, AL is now 39-0 with 38 knockouts. Stiverne, 254.75 lbs of Miami, FL is now 25-3-1.
“So much frustration, it just seemed like my career, it’s been crazy. So many guys using PED’s”, said Wilder, the only American heavyweight world champion. “I just want to prove that I am the best. I know I am the best but I want to prove I am the best.”
“You have to give props to Stiverne for getting in the ring,” said Wilder. “It takes a lot of courage and it takes a lot of pride to step in the ring with someone like me. We do what we have to do in the ring and at least he stepped up. He was a clean fighter.
“I’ve been waiting on that fight for a long time now,” said Wilder. “I declare war upon you. Do you accept my challenge? I’ve been waiting for a long time. I know I’m the champion. I know I’m the best. Are you up for the test?
“A king doesn’t chase the peasants. A king takes kings. I want Joshua. If he doesn’t give me the fight we have other plans. The world wants Joshua, the world wants Wilder, I want Joshua. Joshua come and see me baby. No more dodging, no more excuses. Make the date, don’t wait.”
Former world champion Shawn Porter took a 12-round unanimous decision over Adrian Granados in a rough welterweight contest.
The fight was fought on the inside with many entertaining scrums where both guys moved their hands and landed flush blows.
Porter, 146.5 lbs of Las Vegas, NV won by scores of 117-111 on all cards, and is now 28-3-1. Granados, 146 lbs of Chicago, IL is now 18-6-2.
Porter, who hurt his hand in the 6th round landed 209-583 punches. Granados was 166-680.
“He gave me a little trouble here and there,” said Porter. “I hurt my left hand in the sixth round, but I kept using it. I had to use my jab. It took a toll on me and by the 10th round I just couldn’t throw it anymore.
“The strategy was to keep working the jab. I knew he’d come at me periodically. I was prepared and dug deep to get the win.”
“I thought that I was controlling the fight and keeping up with him the whole time,” Granados told Jim Gray. “He was just trying to use his normal tricks. I rocked him multiple times and he never had me in any trouble.
“He’s a brute. I thought the referee [Gary Rosato] did a good job breaking up the fight at the right times. It was rough but I definitely thought I did better than the scorecards said.”
Sergey Lipinets won the vacant IBF Junior Welterweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Akihiro Kondo.
In round two, Kondo began to bleed from his nose. In round six, Lipinets was cut along his hairline due to an accidental headbutt.
Lipinets, 139 3/4 lbs of Beverly Hills, CA won by scores of 118-110 and 117-111 twice and is now 13-0. Kondo, 139.5 lbs of Tokyo, JAP is 29-7-1.
Lipinets landed 173 of 621 punches. Kondo was 140 of 567.
“I think the scorecards were accurate but it was a good fight,” said Lipinets. “The head-butt really impaired my vision and it led to me walking into some stupid shots.
“I’m happy with my performance. I’m just going to keep getting better from here. I’m ready to take any on challenge thrown my way.”
Kondo, who was fighting for the first time in the United States, proved a worthy opponent on the night. “It was a fair decision,” said Kondo, through a translater. “He hit me with a lot of hard punches and I felt like I needed at least a knockdown in the last round.
“I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to show any pain or fear from his punches. I was determined to keep fighting all night.”
