Former American World Boxing Champion, Deontay Wilder, 36, displayed a rare boxing prowess on Saturday, October 15 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, when he delivered a first round devastating right punch that sent his opponent, Robert Helenius of Finland to the canvas.
The ‘Bronze Bomber’ as he is fondly called in boxing circles dealt a devastating blow to the Finnish boxer in the first round and won the World Boxing Championship, WBC eliminator fight, launching himself once again back into full reckoning in the heavy weight division where his former foe,Tyson Fury of the United Kingdom currently holds sway as the reigning WBC heavyweight title holder. On the other hand, the Ukrainian boxer, Oleksandr Usyk is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the unified WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles since 2021. Usyk had defeated British/Nigerian fighter Anthony Joshua twice to retain the unified titles.
On Saturday, October 15, Wilder’s trademark powerful right hand brought down Helenius unconscious in the opening round of his boxing return, one year after suffering defeat to Tyson Fury. Wilder’s trilogy with Fury will go down in history, with three blockbuster fights which saw The Gypsy King dominate The Bronze Bomber. After a draw in the opening fight which saw Fury effectively rise from knockdown, he followed that up with a technical knockout and a knockout victory, asserting his dominance as current leader in the heavyweight division.
Since then, Wilder has been absent from the ring for over a year, but his return on October 15 relaunched him back into winning mode. He demonstrated why he is perhaps the best KO specialist in the ring currently, leaving Helenius (who won 31 and lost 4 matches so far) down on the canvas for a while, struggling to get back to his feet after the brutal blow from Wilder.
Good news however is that Helenius is not overtly in any bad shape as was feared. He had granted an interview showing sportsmanship by admitting that Wilder was at his best during the match and gave him kudos for the victory, even though he wished the fight had lasted longer than it did, perhaps to enable him to prove some points. Give it to Helenius. His initial jabs were daring and ambitious, but were punctuated by the hi-speed jab to his face from Wilder. Helenius said in the course of the interview that he was going back home to his family, to take some time off the ring and to return probably afterwards. His calmness and sportsmanship portrayed him as a gentleman boxer and he deserves commendation for that.
Back to Wilder’s breakdown. During his post match press conference, Wilder was overcome by emotions when he wondered whether boxing in the heavyweight division was a sport or a deadly war. Boxers have to risk their lives to entertain the fans, he said when he was reflecting on the fate of his opponent Helenius, regarding his state of health after receiving the high-impact deadly punch. In the same breadth the Bronze Bomber, who won 43, lost 2 and drew 1 of his total fights was overtaken even more by emotions while paying tribute to a former super-welterweight boxer Prichard Colon, who suffered a life-altering brain injury.
In the middle of his narration, Wilder broke down in tears worried about the wellbeing of professional boxers, and in the current context of Rober Helenius and the fate of Colon who gave their very best but were adversely affected by the accidents of the game. He was concerned as to whether or not the Finnish fighter, specifically, will return to his family hale and hearty.
Wilder’s interview relayed on Fight Hub TV was responding to a question about what was going on in his mind after his devastating right hand sent his opponent to the canvas which he did not recover from.
‘When I hit him as you could see I was going for another one and it was so fast for me. I did not know it was so devastating until I saw him fall on the canvas. I didn’t know I did what I did.
‘Sometimes when you are in the ring you don’t see what other people see from the outside. My body just reacted. I wanted Robert to reach and when I reached I teached and a lesson was taught tonight, so the heavyweight division is on check.
‘I always have concern for all fighters. This is not a sport. A sport is something you play, you don’t play this. We risk our lives for you guys’ entertainment.
‘My heart goes out to him, and I hope he goes back to his family,” Wilder said.
Wilder also said: “We’ve seen what happens, look at Colon. How he got hit, Richard Colon, correct. This man didn’t have no kids… Y’all don’t understand what we go through, man.
“And I don’t even know him like that, but I will always be an advocate for us. “Because this man will never know what it’s like to be somebody’s father. “And that’s one of the most precious things in the world, to be somebody’s father. But he will never be nobody’s father, man. “Because he got in the ring to support his family but now, his family got to take care of him for the rest of his life.”
Wilder’s emotional words send out a number of thoughts. It underscores the danger that sports men and women are exposed to in search of money and fame. It also shows that beyond boxing, he has human feelings, and it was that humanity that broke him down in the course of the interview. Helenius could have lost an eye or have his nose or Jaws broken. Should we call that an occupational hazard or sporting accident? We can also not rule out the chances that a boxer in that condition could lose his life. Although we don’t pray for that, it is a strong possibility that should be taken into account by the organisers of the famous sport. Families ought not to lose a bread winner, a father, a husband and the like in the course of sports.The difficult question is whether boxing, like other combat sports, should continue to proceed at the risk of fatality or serious injury.
Beyond the safety measures in place requiring that boxers must wear a mouthguard at all times, as well as protective hand bandages, ‘cup’ protectors and a shirt to absorb sweat, one wonders whether boxing regulators could consider it an option to reduce the margin of fatality or life threatening injury in the course of the sport.
