This week in the ring: Deontay Wilder-Johann Duhaupas tops list
The U.S. boxing scene shifts to heavyweights in Alabama this week as Deontay Wilder defends his WBC heavyweight title on Saturday against little-known Frenchman Johann Duhaupas in Birmingham.
It's the second consecutive fight in his home state for Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs), the "Bronze Bomber," who stopped Eric Molina in the ninth round at the Bartow Center on the campus of the University of Alabama-Birmingham in June. The TKO was the 33rd stoppage in 34 fights for Wilder.
He is fighting for the third time this year.
"I couldn't have a better opponent to be defending my title against," Wilder said during a recent conference call. "I think he's the type of opponent for me. He's tough, he comes to fight, he got a great record, he's never been stopped, he got the height (6-5) and the weight (241 pounds). Do I have to say more? I think this is a great fight despite of what critics may say about it or whatever, this is going to be definitely a tough fight and I'm looking forward to it. . . . I'm definitely an active champion; once I became champion, I told people that I want to stay active and I'm looking forward to continuing being active in and outside of the ring as the champion, defending my belt as many times as possible."
Alabamans will be in a fighting mood this week as the Crimson Tide are coming off a loss to Ole Miss last Saturday night. Alabama is at home Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe at 4 p.m. ET in Wilder's hometown of Tuscaloosa. So many of his fans should be primed to watch their favorite son after the football game.
Duhaupas (32-2, 20 KOs) is fighting in the USA for the first time. He is coming off a majority decision victory against heavyweight contender Manuel Charr in April in Moscow. Three weeks earlier, he lost a unanimous decision to undefeated German heavyweight Erkan Teper in Germany. He has never been stopped.
"This is a big challenge for me," Duhaupas, nicknamed "Reptile," said through a translator on the conference call. "This is something I've dreamt for years, that I can be in the U.S. Once I am in the ring I forget everything about where I am, just think about the fight and focus on the fight and the opponent and it will be a normal fight for me. It's really important for me because it's a big fight in a big country."
Two other undefeated heavyweights will grace the undercard: Knockout artist Charles Martin (21-0-1, 19 KOs) takes on Mexican Vicente Sandez (15-4, 10 KOs) and former collegiate quarterback Dominic Breazeale (15-0, 14 KOs) fights Fred Kassi (18-3-1, 10 KOs). The Breazeale-Kassi fight will be the first televised fight on NBC, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday from the Legacy Arena.
On Tuesday, rising super welterweight star Julian "J Rock" Williams (20-0-1, 12 KOs) takes on Argentine veteran Luciano Cuello (35-3, 17 KOs) in a 10-round bout. The PBC on Fox Sports 1 bout will be aired starting at 9 p.m. ET from the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pa.
Other world championship bouts: On Tuesday: Shinsuke Yamanaka (23-0-2, 17 KOs) vs. Anselmo Moreno (35-3-1, 12 KOs) for WBC world bantamweight title, in Tokyo; On Saturday: Juan Francisco Estrada (32-2, 23 KOs) vs. Hernan Marquez (39-5-1, 28 KOs) for the WBA and WBO flyweight titles, at Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico; Fedor Chudinov (13-0, 10 KOs) vs. Frank Buglioni (17-1-1, 13 KOs) for the WBA super middleweight title, at Wembley Arena in London.