Deontay Wilder violently knocks out Artur Szpilka with vicious right hand

The Briton even says he will be in attendance in NY on Saturday night as the reigning WBC champion makes the third defence of his title against Artur Szpilka, who is aiming to become the second man to go the distance with the Bronze Bomber. Well, as of right now, heading into this weekend’s bout with Artur Szpilka, Wilder hasn’t done that.

The end of Szpilka’s dream of becoming the first Polish heavyweight champion came at 2:24 of the ninth round.

We’d like to see Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs) take on the victor of that rematch, should it happen.

“This is a great card”, Wilder said at the final presser before tonight’s encounter.

“I keep saying that I want it to be embedded in you guys’ brains that 2016 belongs to Deontay Wilder, where he will unify the division”, Wilder said. I’m very honored to have the WBC belt.

“I can’t wait. This is so important because the Polish people have supported me so well”.

But perhaps the most dramatic point of the evening came after the fight when Wilder’s fellow heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, crashed the ring to confront his American rival. Repeat blows to the body to chop down Wilder’s long frame could go a long way and will close punching range to limit his power. Most likely, the promoters did not have time to add Szpilka to the poster, but the imagery is symbolically representative of Haymon’s parochial motives to create the impression that Wilder lives in an ivory tower. But Wilder rallied again in the sixth to score with his right. Szpilka (20-2, 15 KOs) had a good round in the seventh, rocking the champion with a sharp right hand.

But Wilder said it is a process.

In the undercard, American heavyweight Charles Martin (23-0-1, 21 KOs) now holds a heavyweight title alongside Tyson Fury, thanks to a freaky and disappointing result from his bout against Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov (21-1-1, 13 KOs). James J. Jeffries defended his championship and knocked out James J. Corbett on May 11, 1900, in the 23rd round of a scheduled 25-rounder in Coney Island. That’s the definition of ancient history.

I’m hearing a lot about Joseph Parker and he’s from the other side of the world!

With such high stakes and an acrimonious, entertaining build-up to the fight, Deontay Wilder-Artur Szpilka should be a compelling scrap.

Glazkov’s right knee buckled has he was falling backward after Martin had stepped on his foot while throwing the punch. Glazkov gets up but is limping around. Round two was a complete bore that drew derision. Martin was more active though so he gets the round. Replays confirmed that the right knee injury was a slip and wasn’t the result of a connected shot from Martin.

As Wilder finished off his interview with Showtime, Fury was brought in to say his piece and duly took the microphone from Jim Gray. “I already had him figured out”. I say a team prayer and I say an individual prayer. “I was going to pick it up”. (Szpilka) is definitely in my prayers. And by tweeners I mean fighters who don’t possess one distinct weapon or trait. Anywhere I landed it was a force. Even if Wilder were to be favored in that matchup, the risk remains too high for his handlers to feel comfortable enough taking that fight. I’m sorry for him.