Notebook: Wilder, headed for hand surgery, offers belated congratulations to Fury

Mikey Garcia headlines on DAZN on Saturday; cruiserweight champ Briedis in possible final hometown defense; tons of Quick hits; Show and tell

Oct 15, 2021

After heavyweight champion Tyson Fury brutally knocked out former titlist Deontay Wilder in the 11th round of their instant classic third fight on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Fury approached Wilder to shake his hand.

There had been many harsh words exchanged between them since Fury’s seventh-round TKO win in the February 2020 rematch and Fury figured it was time to leave it all behind.

Usually after a tough fight, the combatants show respect for each other and at least shake hands. Often they even hug it out.

But Wilder wanted no part of England’s Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs), who approached Wilder and patted him on the shoulder while he was seated on his stool after the fight. He was talking to Wilder, who responded, “No love, no love. I don’t respect you.” The scene was captured on a 25-second video clip Fury promoter Top Rank posted to social media.

In the days since the fight, however, Wilder has apparently had a change of heart, posting a message on his social media on Thursday directed to his fans as well as to Fury.

“Wow, what a hell of a night! I would like to first and foremost thank God for allowing me to give the world another part of me that’s driven with passion and determination,” Wilder wrote. “I would like to thank my team and my fans for sticking by my side through this long process. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed in the outcome but after reflecting on my journey, I now see that what God wanted me to experience is far greater than what I expected to happen. We didn’t get the win but a wise man once said the victories are within the lessons. I’ve learned that sometimes you have to lose to win.

“Although, I wanted the win I enjoyed seeing the fans win even more. Hopefully, I proved that I am a true Warrior and a true King in this sport. Hopefully, WE proved that no matter how hard you get hit with trials and tribulations you can always pick yourself up to live and fight again for what you believe in. Last but not least I would like to congratulate @gypsyking101 for his victory and thank you for the great historical memories that will last forever.”

After the fight, Wilder went to University Medical Center as a precaution. He was diagnosed with a broken metacarpal bone in his powerful right hand — perhaps the most destructive weapon in boxing today — and had a cut inside his ear that caused him some balance problems, but otherwise he was OK.

“(The break is) behind the middle finger, a cracked metacarpal behind the knuckle,” Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s co-manager, told Fight Freaks Unite on Thursday. “He’ll have surgery on Monday. He’ll be out 3-4 months recuperating.”

Finkel said Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who turns 36 in two weeks, does not plan to retire and that he probably would be back next spring.

“I would guess March or April but more likely May or June,” Finkel said.

He said they have not yet discussed what sort of route back Wilder wants to take.

“Whatever he wants,” Finkel said of whether Wilder would come back with a significant fight or a lesser fight to find his bearings. “It’s a conversation that’s not there yet. We’ll see how he feels.”

As for the criticism Wilder received for not shaking Fury’s hand after the fight, Finkel said it was no big deal.

“He had a broken hand and he was a little disoriented from the ear punch. He didn’t mean any harm at the time,” Finkel said. “That (social media post from Wilder) was all his own language, the way he wanted to say it. He said, ‘Can you run over this?’ I looked at it and I said this is great.

“He wasn’t pissed off at the end of the fight at Fury. He was hurt (emotionally and physically) and the hand (hurt) and things were happening with him, not with Fury. He was physically hurt. It was right after the fight. He fought his heart out. He had a broken hand. He had fought about four or five rounds with it and still hurt Fury in the 10th round even with that (injury). And he just lost. He had trained his ass off and there’s a lot going on. It’s not the first thing in your mind, yeah, let me shake your hand. If he was OK I think he would have. Hopefully, he showed what he really feels now.”

Mikey Garcia back in action

After former four-division world titleholder Mikey Garcia moved up two weight classes to welterweight to challenge Errol Spence Jr. for his world title in 2019 and lost a shutout decision, he would not fight again for 11 months. But when Garcia did return he looked strong in a unanimous 12-round decision over former junior welterweight and welterweight titlist Jessie Vargas in a highly entertaining fight in February 2020, and all systems were go for him to fight more regularly.

Garcia was thinking he’d have three fights in 2020 but then, of course, the coronavirus pandemic shut things down for months and many fighters wound up being inactive for a far longer stretch than they anticipated. Garcia, familiar with layoffs, was one of them. He had been on the shelf for 2½ years between early 2014 and mid-2016 due a battle with former promoter Top Rank over his promotional contract. Then there was the 11-month layoff after the loss to Spence.

Now, it has been 19 months since the victory over Vargas. The pandemic kept him idle but he also was close to a deal to fight Manny Pacquiao that ultimately went by the wayside and extended the layoff. Garcia had just one fight in 2019, one in 2020 and will fight only once in 2021.

But now he is ready to get back into the ring and hoping to fight more regularly. The return begins with a 10-round bout at a contract weight of 145 pounds against former European junior welterweight champion Sandor Martin on Saturday (DAZN, 7:30 p.m. ET) at the outdoor Chukchansi Park in Fresno, California.

I spoke to Garcia this week and wrote about his return from yet another layoff and his hope to face Regis Prograis next and his thoughts on returning to junior welterweight if he could land a fight with undisputed champion Josh Taylor or Gervonta Davis. Read my story for The Ring magazine website here: https://www.ringtv.com/628536-mikey-garcia-looks-to-make-sandor-martin-a-memory-before-resuming-talks-with-regis-prograis/

Briedis defends on Saturday

Cruiserweight world champion Mairis Briedis defends his title against Artur Mann on Saturday at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia, Briedis’ hometown.

The fight will be Briedis’ first since winning a majority decision and the IBF belt from Yunier Dorticos in the delayed final of the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight final on Sept.26 with no spectators in Munich, Germany.

Now, Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs), 36, is fighting at home again, where he has been a major draw for years, for the first time since June 2019. But it could be Briedis’ last fight at home for awhile, according to promoter Kalle Sauerland.

“This weekend is, of course, going to be a special event as Mairis Briedis defends his world title in front of a red-hot atmosphere at the Arena Riga, but it is also going to be an emotional one,” Sauerland said. “I have informed the team that this is going to be Mairis’ last ever appearance in his native Latvia as 2022 will mean us going on the road in order to unify the division.”

It seems unlikely it will be last ever appearance there, but it could be a bit before he is back.

“If this is my last fight in Latvia then this has given me additional motivation,” Briedis said. “I will make sure I give everyone at Arena Riga a night to remember. Boxing in Latvia is fantastic. This is my home and fighting here is special. I’ve boxed all over the world, including in the United States, but nowhere is as good as here. I will make sure I enjoy this evening with my fans.”

Germany’s Mann (17-1, 9 KOs), who turned 31 on Monday, is aiming to spoil Briedis’ homecoming.

“I am very motivated,” Mann said. “I’ve been training hard since the day I received a call about this fight. This is the most important thing for me right now. I will give everything in the ring.”

Quick hits

Blue chip heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson, who blitzed then-undefeated Vladimir Tereshkin by second-round knockout last Saturday on the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder III undercard, will be back in action Nov. 20 on the Terence Crawford-Shawn Porter undercard at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Anderson (10-0, 10 KOs), 21, of Toledo, Ohio, is slated to fight on the basic cable portion of the undercard just before the pay-per-view begins on ESPN+. Anderson will face Oleksandr Teslenko (17-1, 13 KOs), 29, a Ukraine native fighting out of Montreal, in an eight-rounder, sources with knowledge of the fight told Fight Freaks Unite.

Weights from Fresno, California, for the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card on Friday night (8:30 p.m. ET): Emanuel Navarrete 125.8 pounds, Joet Gonzalez 125.4 (for Navarrete's WBO featherweight title); Giovani Santillan 147, Angel Ruiz 147.4; Henry Lebron 131, Manuel Rey Rojas 130.2; Lindolfo Delgado 141.6, Juan Garcia Mendez 140.2; Javier Martinez 162.4, Darryl Jones 161.6; Floyd Diaz 118, Jose Ramirez 116.4; Antonio Mireles 262.2, Demote Randle 314.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced he has signed junior welterweight Montana Love to a multi-fight promotional deal. Love (16-0-1, 8 KOs), 26, a southpaw from Cleveland, is coming off his most impressive win on Aug. 29 on the Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley undercard, where he stopped former world titlist Ivan Baranchyk in the seventh round. His first fight with Matchroom is slated for December. “I’m very excited, definitely happy to be part of the team,” Love said. “Eddie came to me, and we worked out an amazing deal. I feel he’s the best in the business and this is going to be an amazing. I had lots of offers on the table. I talked to everyone, and we reached out to Eddie. He felt good about us, and we felt good about him. Eddie talks with paper, not just words out of his mouth, so everything he says is followed through in the deal and in the contract. I like that. I know he’s going to deliver for me on everything he’s said.”

The WBC canceled a purse bid scheduled for Friday for the fight between cruiserweight titlist Ilunga Makabu and mandatory challenger Thabiso Mchunu, announcing on Thursday that Makabu promoter Don King and Mchunu promoter German Titov have agreed to terms and adding that “this all-Africa battle will be staged in a site and date to be announced shortly.” Makabu (28-2, 25 KOs), 33, a Congo native fighting out of South Africa, will be making his second defense. He owns an 11th-round knockout victory over Mchunu (23-5, 13 KOs), 33, a southpaw from South Africa, in a May 2015 nontitle bout.

Top Rank announced it has picked up Saturday’s card from Cancun, Mexico, to stream on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The show is headlined by junior bantamweight David Cuellar (19-0, 12 KOs), 19, of Mexico, taking on former world titlist Moises Fuentes (25-6-1, 14 KOs), 36, of Mexico, who is coming off a three-year layoff, in a 10-rounder at Oasis Arena. Among the other bouts slated to stream is welterweight Taras Shelestyuk (18-0, 10 KOs), 35, a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist from Ukraine, against Ernesto Espana (31-2-1, 26 KOs), 40, of Venezuela. Shelestyuk has been idle since January 2020.

Upstart promoter Probellum announced it has signed former bantamweight titlist Paul Butler (33-2, 15 KOs), 32, of England. The signing comes ahead of Butler’s mandatory title shot against WBO titlist John Riel Casimero (31-4, 21 KOs), 32, of the Philippines. Last week, Probellum won the purse bid to promote the fight. It was the only bidder, offering $105,000. Butler is the 14th fighter Probellum has signed in the past few weeks. The date for Casimero-Butler has not yet been announced.

Junior welterweight Lewis Ritson (21-2, 12 KOs), 28, who was due to face former world title challenger Hank Lundy (39-9-1, 14 KOs), 37, of Philadelphia, in an eight-rounder on Boxxer’s Sky Sports card on Saturday at Utilita Arena in Ritson’s hometown of Newcastle, England, withdrew from the bout on Thursday. Boxxer said he pulled out to due illness. WBO women’s middleweight titlist Savannah Marshall headlines in her second defense against Lolita Muzeya. The card also includes heavyweight Hughie Fury against Christian Hammer and middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. versus Wanik Awdijan.

Show and tell

Wladimir Klitschko won the Olympic super heavyweight gold medal in the 1996 Olympics and entered the pro ranks later that year with the expectation from most that he would eventually win a world title. Every Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist is saddled with that expectation. When Klitschko got his first shot at a world title four years later it came against Chris Byrd, who had scored an upset ninth-round stoppage of Wladimir’s older brother, Vitali Klitschko, to claim the title when he retired on his stool with a badly torn rotator cuff in a fight he had otherwise dominated. Byrd’s first defense was against Wladimir in a fight German promoter Universum billed as “Die Rache des Bruders” — “The Brother’s Revenge.”

They met on Oct. 14, 2000 — 21 years ago on Thursday — and Klitschko dominated. He dropped the much smaller Byrd twice en route to a one-sided decision victory to not only avenge his brother’s defeat but also to claim his first world title. That fight was the first world title appearance for Klitschko, who would ultimately have two title reigns, knock Byrd out in a rematch 5½ years later and fight in an all-time record 29 world heavyweight title bouts. I have two versions of the site poster — one is 33x24 and the other is 12x16½ but with the same artwork — from Klitschko’s historic first title fight appearance. Here is the smaller of the two in my collection.

Wilder photo: Sean Michael Ham/TGB Promotions; Garcia photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing; Briedis-Mann photo: Mikus Klavins/Wasserman Boxing

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