Page 18 - Aruba Today
P. 18
A18
SPORTSMonday 18 January 2016
Wilder retains WBC heavyweight crown with KO of Szpilka
DAN GELSTON ter. him. Former heavyweight Deontay Wilder, left, punches Artur Szpilka, of Poland, during the
AP Sports Writer “I’m a dangerous fighter,” champions Mike Tyson and eighth round of a WBC heavyweight title boxing match Satur-
NEW YORK (AP) — One fight Wilder said. “What made Lennox Lewis sat ringside day, Jan. 16, 2016, in New York. Wilder retained his WBC heavy-
over, Deontay Wilder near- my name is knocking peo- for Wilder’s 35th KO that weight championship with a violent knockout of Artur Szpilka in
ly landed in another scrum ple out. My right hand is a silenced a Polish-flavored the ninth round Saturday night at the Barclays Center.
with a furious heavyweight monster.” crowd that chanted and
party crasher. Wilder (36-0) left Szpilka out sang for Szpilka. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
With Tyson Fury plotting a cold and flat on his back “I’m surprised it took that
post-fight melee from ring- with a powerful right hand long, but we had 12 rounds
side, Wilder retained his to the face. Szpilka (20-2) and they can’t all can’t be
WBC heavyweight cham- was out for several minutes pretty,” Wilder said.
pionship with a violent and medics were called Fury, the WBO and IBO
knockout of Artur Szpilka in to the ring. He eventually heavyweight champ, also
the ninth round Saturday slumped against the ring sat ringside until the fight
night at the Barclays Cen- post as doctors tended to was over — he then burst
through the ropes and en- The hype for a fight that
gaged in a trash talking, hasn’t been signed was
head-to-head showdown more entertaining than the
that electrified the crowd. fight that had just ended.
The IBF stripped Fury of an- Fury and Klitschko will
other one of his champion- meet, likely in May, in a re-
ship belts when he agreed match of their fight. Wilder
to an immediate rematch must make a mandatory
against Wladimir Klitschko. defense against Alexander
Fury slammed down his Povetkin.
jacket and could not be The heavyweights fought a
restrained by security, furi- fantastic eight rounds and
ously issuing Wilder a chal- were closing in on a ninth
lenge to unify the belts. until Wilder caught Szpilka
Wilder, who won his third ti- flush with 36 seconds left in
tle defense and was ahead the round.
on all three scorecards, Charles Martin won the va-
was ready for another fight. cant IBF world heavyweight
“Like I did Klitschko, I’ll beat championship in an under-
you, ya bum, You’re a whelming bout against in-
bum,” the showman Fury jured Vyacheslav Glazkov
said. “You can run around in the co-main event.
like you’re a preacher all Polish fans outside the Bar-
you want but you step in clays Center were sing-
the ring, I promise you I will ing and chanting Szpilka’s
baptize you,” Wilder said, name hours before the title
as 12,668 fans roared. “This bout and they livened up a
is an act. You’re not a real packed arena. They went
fighter. This is an act. I don’t wild in the undercard when
play this. This ain’t wres- Adam Kownacki beat Dan-
tling.” ny Kelly. When Kownacki,
Like a heel wrestler, Fury a Polish-American heavy-
stood on the corner turn- weight with a doughy
buckles, gestured toward frame, unloaded 42 punch-
the crowd and was about es in 40 seconds on a rat-
booed out of the building. tled Kelly, fans erupted in
All that was missing was a chants of “Polska! Polska!”
steel chair to the back. Kownacki improved to 13-0
“Fury, I don’t take that guy with a unanimous decision
serious at all,” Wilder said. victory.q
