Tyson Fury’s late-year upset of Wladimir Klitschko had many consequences, the most important of which was blowing the heavyweight division wide open.
With Klitschko’s 11-year reign at an end, a host of contenders have stepped forward to fill the breach.
Among the most significant is American Deontay Wilder, who holds the WBC title, which he defends against little-known Artur Szpilka in New York this weekend.
Ironically, Brooklyn hasn’t hosted a heavyweight championship fight in 115 years, but this weekend gets to host two as Charles Martin fights unbeaten Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov on the undercard for the IBF title, which was stripped from Fury.
SuperSport 6 will broadcast the action from 3am on Sunday.
Wilder’s long-term aim is a unification bout against Fury, but for now he’s satisfying himself with less dangerous opponents like the Pole, whose only defeat in 21 fights came against Bryant Jennings.
He’s on the small side, but his southpaw style and solid chin have taken him far.
He will need to be as rugged as ever against Wilder, whose 34 knockouts in 35 wins mark him as a dangerous puncher. While it’s true that the majority of those stoppage wins came against journeymen, there’s no question that he can crack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueDE9wlpluM
“2016 is going to be a huge year for Deontay Wilder,” said the champion. “The fans are going to be very excited and impressed with what I do this year. I’m not playing around. My goal is to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and whoever has those belts is going to have to deal with me.”
Almost forgotten amid the hype around Wilder is the undercard bout between Martin and Glazkov, thrown together in the wake of the IBF decision.
Martin hasn’t beaten any recognisable names and gets the fight by virtue of his number four ranking by the IBF. Unbeaten in 23 starts, the southpaw goes in against the IBF number one as a slight favourite.
“It’s crazy, a blessing, I’m happy to be here for sure,” Martin said of his ascent to the top reaches of the division. “It’s a dream to become a world champion. After we take this belt, I want the WBC. I want them all. I’ll take them from Tyson Fury. Give me them all.”
Glazkov is a moderate puncher with solid skills who will have to find a way past Martin’s big left hand, which has brought him 20 early stoppages in his 22 wins.
He’s also on the small side for a heavyweight, but he has fast hands and pedigree: he won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games.