Former two-time welterweight champion, Shawn Porter, has singled out one heavyweight as ‘different’, in a crowded, exciting division.
Porter was attending the return of Deontay Wilder, where the ‘Bronze Bomber’ spectacularly knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round – only needing three punches to do so.
‘Showtime’ was clearly in awe of the 36-year-old’s performance and in an interview with ESNews, stated how every fighter keeps claiming to be ‘different’ but no one comes close to Wilder.
“Everybody using that word ‘different’, but that’s [Wilder] the definition of different.
I think it’s cool to see Deontay be able to get back like this, in the way he did today. He looked different in the ring today. He looked calm, he looked poised, like he knew exactly what he wanted to do.
He looked very confident and that’s what the game is all about, the mental part is more important than the physical, the physical usually just handles itself.”
The brutality of the knockout even led to tears from Wilder in the post-fight press conference, where he emotionally gave Helenius his best wishes in regards to his recovery.
In terms of what’s next for former champ, talks about the long-awaited scrap with Anthony Joshua have resurfaced, but the most likely outcome seems to be a fight against Andy Ruiz Jr, which is set to be ordered as a final eliminator for Tyson Fury’s WBC title next week.
With both Wilder and Ruiz being signed to Al Haymon’s PBC, the fight would likely be an easy one to make with no major promotional or broadcasting issues to overcome.