By Geno McGahee
Former WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder, 43-2-1, 42 KO’s, returned to the ring after his back to back knockout losses to Tyson Fury and he came in very light at 214 pounds. He would be outweighed by Robert Helenius, 31-4, 20 KO’s, by 40 pounds and the two would go head to head last night on pay per view. A lot of people complained about the 74.99 price tag for this event, but with Wilder, much like Mike Tyson, you are paying for the excitement and we got it last night.
Wilder moved around the ring as Helenius imposed himself, landing body shots and trying to keep Wilder moving backward. It’s a strategy that worked for Tyson Fury, but Helenius didn’t have the defense that Fury had and the one thing that always hurt Helenius was his tendency to hold his left hand down.
Helenius was winning the round but with 3 seconds left, a right hand from Wilder landed and Helenius went down hard. It was over just like that. Wilder’s power is so unbelievable that the punch was grazing and coming with his back to the ropes. It flattened Helenius, a quality big heavyweight.
Wilder is now on a collision course with either Andy Ruiz or Oleksandr Usyk, the unified heavyweight champion. I don’t think either will be eager to step into the ring with Wilder. The likely match will be Ruiz and that fight might not go beyond the first round either.
After the fight, there was a touching moment between Wilder and Helenius. All the talk about killing a guy in the ring that Wilder often says was out the window as he broke down, noting that he was scared to see his friend, Helenius, laid out. Remarkably, Helenius was there to console him. It’s nice to see that sportsmanship and friendship.
