It was a return to business as usual for Deontay Wilder on Saturday night in Brooklyn.
After being pushed to the limit in a white-knuckle split draw with Tyson Fury less than six months ago, Wilder needed all of 137 seconds to dispense of mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale in the ninth successful defense of his WBC heavyweight title.
Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs) was on the front foot for the entire fight, establishing his ramrod jab before sending Breazeale reeling backward with a right hand midway through the round.
“I saw him slow up a little bit,” said Wilder, who landed nine of 35 punches on the night, compared to two of 10 for his opponent. “When I hit him with the right hand the first time, his body language changed. When you’ve been in with so many guys you can recognize body language.”
The challenger was able to land a big right hook on Wilder’s jaw to briefly stem the tide, but Wilder closed the show moments later with a terrifying right cross to the jaw that sent Breazeale clattering to the deck and the charitably announced crowd of 13,181 to their feet.
Breazeale tried to beat the count as Wilder celebrated on a turnbuckle, but referee Harvey Dock waved it off at the 2:17 mark of the opening round.
“I think the ref stopped it a little early because I could hear him saying seven and eight, but that’s boxing,” said Breazeale, who suffered his second career defeat. His previous loss came in Anthony Joshua’s first title defense. “He did his job and kept us safe for our next fight. I got on my feet and had my legs under me. It’s the heavyweight division so there’s going to big shots from guys with power.”
Afterward Wilder immediately addressed the potential superfights on hand in the newly revitalized heavyweight division, including a rematch with Fury and a four-belt unification bout with Anthony Joshua, assuring fans they were imminent.
Joshua, who holds the WBA, WBO and IBF belts, takes his turn across the East River on 1 June when he makes his US debut against Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden. Fury, who effectively dashed any hope of an immediate rematch with Wilder in February when he signed a co-promotional deal with Top Rank, defends his lineal title against the unheralded Tom Schwarz on 15 June in Las Vegas.
“I understand what Tyson Fury did,” Wilder said. “When you get dropped on the canvas like that I understand you have to get yourself back together. That’s what he did. But that fight will happen. The rematch will happen. Like all these other big fights are going to happen. I know a lot of people want to know when the Joshua fight is going to happen. The great thing is all these fights are in discussion. No doors are closed.”
