WILDER CALLS JOSHUA AS WBC PREZ SULAIMAN AGREES TO UNIFICATION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 07 Nov 2017
After his savage first round destruction of Bermane Stiverne, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder called unified WBA/IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. ?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 don?t chase the peasants. A king takes kings. I want Joshua."
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"The world want Joshua, the world want Wilder. I want Joshua. Joshua, come and see me, baby. No more dodging, no more excuses. Make the date, don?t wait,? said Wilder after he stopped Stiverne on Saturday which drew nearly 11,000 at Barclays Cente. ?I?ve been waiting on that fight for a long time now. 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??
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"I was really interested to see the weight of Deontay Wilder on the scales. I texted that to Anthony today. I shouldn't really tell you the reply, but it was 'I'll eat him.'? Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports. ?Joshua has told me we want all the belts and that means taking on all the champions. The gentleman over there sitting ringside, Tyson Fury, he's in the plans for 2018 as well. Joseph Parker as well...Everybody wants to fight Anthony Joshua and you will see him fight everybody."
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WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman is open on the plan of Deontay Wilder facing Anthony Joshua next. Wilder is now free to negotiate a match with any of the WBC Top 15 contenders, although Sulaiman initiated talks with the American title holder and granted his wishes to unify the heavyweight titles next year. "Deontay Wilder told me last night that he wants Anthony Joshua and asked for the World Boxing Council support. Let's make it happen!" stated Sulaiman.
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Jayson Mama of Sanman Gym stopped journeyman Rodel Tejares of Bukidnon in the main event of the fight card on Sunday in General Santos City. Mama (8-0, 4 KOs) won by TKO when Tejares (21-45-7, 6 KOs). In the co-feature, former amateur standout Jade Bornea (10-0, 7 KOs) of General Santos City, the current IBF Youth super flyweight title holder, knocked out John Rey Lauza (13-26-4, 6 KOs) of Zamboanga del Sur in the second round.
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WBC bantamweight champion Luis "Pantera" Nery won by a TKO in the sixth round against "King" Arthur Villanueva. But Nery was dropped in the fourth round before more than 15,000 hometown fans at the Gasmart Ballpark in Tijuana. "We were very well prepared because we knew we were up against a great fighter. Villanueva was always dangerous, hit me several times and I expected him to be hard and brave. He delivered, but work the corner and our preparation took us forward," said Nery.
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Former two division world champion Bernard Hopkins believes size really matters in the Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs) versus Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) WBO super featherweight championship on December 9 at the New York's Madison Square Garden. Rigondeaux, the WBA super bantamweight world champion, is smaller compared to Lomachenko as the Cuban moves up by eight-pounds equal to two weight divisions.
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Hopkins, current Golden Boy Promotions executive, says Rigondeaux is very talented but he is too small to defeat another talented fighter. "Lomachenko will win and by knockout, in the late rounds," Hopkins told ESPN Deportes. Former world champion Rosendo Alvarez agrees with Hopkins that the Ukrainian has the size advantage as well as the constant activity of Lomachenko. He thinks the fight will be very complicated with two similar styles, defensive and with good speed.
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"I think Lomachenko will come out with better results, because he's more continuous with his attack. Rigondeaux starts off very slow," Alvarez said. "He will be affected by the weight gain, he will not have the same power... similar to what happened with Chocolatito. In that weight division, Rigondeaux will not have the same punch or speed in his legs to be able to escape the attacks of Lomachenko, who is accustomed to fighting in that weight division."
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Lennox Lewis was the last undisputed heavyweight champion and became so by defeating Evander Holyfield on November 13, 1999, successfully unifiying his WBC title with Holyfield's WBA and IBF belts. With that victory, he was also awarded the vacant IBO title. Lewis was stripped of his WBA belt on April 29, 2000 due to a contract dispute regarding a clause in the second Holyfield contract which stipulated that he must fight the WBA number one contender next.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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