By Geno McGahee
WBC Heavyweight Champion, Deontay Wilder, 41-0-1, 40 KO’s, sent a big message to the other heavyweight title holder, Anthony Joshua, by knocking out Dominic Breazeale, 20-2, 18 KO’s, in the first round. The common opponent took Joshua late into the fight before he was able to get the TKO. Wilder didn’t allow the fight to go that long.
From the opening bell, Wilder chased the bigger Breazeale down, landing some good shots from the outside, including a right hand that stunned him early. Breazeale would land a right hand that backed off the WBC king, but it didn’t take much longer for him to find the challenger and knock him into tomorrow. A brutal right hand would knock Breazeale cold and end the fight before it began. It was a big message to the other top guys in the division but also made it clear to the fans that any B heavyweight will be carried out in short fashion if they step into the ring with Wilder.
After the fight, Wilder said that fights with Joshua and a rematch with Tyson Fury were in the future plans, a rematch with Luis Ortiz seemed like the next step. It’s hard to imagine a fight with an older Ortiz would be as competitive as their first outing. The real challenge will be Joshua if the two can ever iron it out and make a unification with the two undefeated best big men in their prime going at it for the biggest prize in sports happen.
