By: William Holmes
On Saturday night one of the biggest heavyweight fights since Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The MGM Grand Garden Arena will be the host site for this PPV and it will be a joint venture between Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions and Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions.
Additionally, broadcast rivals ESPN and Fox will be working together to put on this card. The undercard features some of Top Rank’s and the PBC’s best prospects and fighters on the undercard. Fights on the undercard include Emanuel Navarrete defending his WBO Junior Featherweight Title against Jeo Tupas Santisima, a junior middleweight fight between Subriel Matias and Petros Ananyan, and a welterweight bout between Amir Imam and Javier Molina.
Other boxers on the undercard include Rolando Romero, Gabriel Flors Jr., Vito Mielnicki Jr., and Isaac Lowe.
The co-main event is an IBF Heavyweight Eliminator between Charles Martin and Gerald Washington. Both Martin and Washington will look to keep their names in the mix for another shot at the heavyweight title.
The following is a preview of the co-main event and main event of the night.
Charles Martin (27-2-1) vs. Gerald Washington (20-3-1); Heavyweights
This is a cross roads fight for both Charles Martin and Gerald Washington. Martin previously held one of the heavyweight titles and Washington previously competed for it, and they look to get back into contention with a win on Saturday night. A loss for either of them may spell the end of their chances at a future title shot.
Washington is thirty seven years old, four years older than Charles Martin. Washington will have about a two inch reach advantage and a one inch height advantage on Martin. However, Martin is a southpaw and that might give a boxer with no amateur experience like Washington some problems.
Martin appears to be the harder puncher of the two. Martin has twenty four stoppage victories while Washington has thirteen. Washington also appears to have the weaker chin of the two, he was stopped three times while Martin was only stopped once.
Both boxers have been fairly active. They both fought twice in 2019, once in 2018, and twice in 2017. Washington however went 2-3 in his last five fights.
Some notable names Washington has defeated include Robert Helenius, John Wesley Nofire, Ray Austin, Eddie Chambers, and Nagy Aguilera. His defeats were to Adam Kownacki, Jarrell Miller, and Deontay Wilder.
Washington played college football for USC but has no notable amateur experience to speak on.
Martin has defeated the likes of Daniel Martz, Gregory Corbin, Michael Marrone, Vyacheslav Glazkov, and Raphael Zumbano. His losses were to Anthony Joshua and Adam Kownacki. Martin is a former National PAL Champion and a National Golden Gloves Runner Up.
Washington’s age will be a factor in this fight, and he has a losing record in his last five fights. Martin was able to hang with Adam Kownacki without being stopped, and Kownacki has a stronger punch than Washington.
This should be a fight that Martin walks away the victor.
Tyson Fury (29-0-1) vs. Deontay Wilder (42-0-1); WBC Heavyweight Title
This fight is one of the most anticipated rematches of the century. Deontay Wilder has faced 42 opponents and has stopped every single one of them except for one, and that’s Tyson Fury.
Their first bout was declared a draw, with the score cards being 113-113, 115-111 for Wilder, and 114-112 for Fury. Fury would have won the bout if it wasn’t for the 12th round knockdown by Wilder that Fury got up from at the last second.
Fury will have a two inch height and a two inch reach advantage over Wilder. He’s also three years younger that Wilder, who is nearing the end of his athletic prime at 34 years old. Both boxers fight in an orthodox stance, and both boxers have been fairly active the past two years. Fury fought twice in 2019 and three times in 2018, while Wilder fought twice a year in 2019, 2018, and in 2017.
Fury has twenty stoppages on his resume and isn’t known for his power. He has defeated the likes of Otto Wallin, Tom Schwarz, Francesco Pianeta, Sefer Seferi, Wladimir Klitschko, Dereck Chisora, Steve Cunningham, and Kevin Johnson.
Wilder has defeated and stopped the likes of Luis Ortiz, Dominic Breazeale, Bermane Stiverne, Gerald Washington, Chris Arreola, ARtur Szpilka, Johann Duhaupas, Eric Molina, Malik Scott, and Siarhei Liakhovich.
Wilder does have an edge in amateur experience over Tyson Fury. Fury had an amateur record of 31-4 and is a European Union Championship Gold Medalist. Wilder won a bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Can Wilder’s bomb of a right hand find its target again and put Fury down for the count? It is this writer opinion that the answer is yes. But Fury’s defensive skills should not be overlooked and he has the style to give Wilder a good fight.
Regardless, this should be an entertaining bout for fight fans around the globe.