The Historian’s Hub: Deontay Wilder Vs Chris Arreola, Viktor Postol Vs Terence Crawford & Adrien Broner Better Avoid Boner’s While in Jail!
By Ian “The Boxing Historian” Murphy
This week in the world of combat sports
A one-armed Pride of Tuscaloosa batters a 246 lb heavy bag, and despite this seemingly impressive win over a man with two arms, it does not put the rest of the division on notice. The champ shows some heart, but proves little in title defense of trampionship belt versus said heavy bag…Adrien “Boner” returns to the Big House for a 30 day stint because he can’t keep a court date…HBO jams its foot in its mouth by pitting two good (but low draw) fighters on a PPV card, thus limiting the exposure of two potential stars…
Deontay Wilder Vs Chris Arreola
This past Saturday night, WBC Heavyweight Champion (I HATE prefacing that hallowed title with “WBC”) Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder increased his hard to believe undefeated record to 37-0 (with a stupendously suspicious 36 wins by knockout) by defeating former title challenger Chris Arreola. Wilder was supposed to fight contender Alexander Povetkin, but the Russian pissed hot apparently for a banned substance that is now mysteriously no longer banned. Unfortunate misunderstanding? Maybe. Could Wilder’s team be navigating him away from major threats ala Golden Boy with Canelo Alvarez? Likely. I get that boxing is a business, but come on already, talk about not seeing the forest from the trees. Agitate the fans enough and your Golden Goose might not be so golden anymore…
The fight between Arreola and Wilder was nothing to sneeze at and the only upside was that it was on free TV (a promising trend). Wilder beat down the plodding and frustrated Arreola for 7 rounds before the fight was stopped in the 8th. Arreola, 35, appeared to be unable to pull the trigger when he had the champion in a spot where he could do any damage. Wilder, for his part, properly utilized his reach and landed many hard, crisp jabs to Arreola’s face, not that Chris was making it tough by moving his head at all. Wilder also claims he tore his right bicep and broke his right hand in the fight, which could have contributed to him not finishing off his overmatched opponent in more decisive fashion. The champion showed heart and resiliency in fighting through his injuries, but let’s get real, even with only one arm, he was never in any danger. I think it’s safe to say that had Wilder been in there with Povetkin, we might have a new trampion…
Viktor Postol Vs Terence Crawford
Now this is a fight the hard core fans are looking forward to! But, as usual, the powers that be muck it all up and make it a Pay Per View. These two guys aren’t stars yet. Good, hungry, and entertaining? No doubt, but neither have the star power to warrant a PPV. This is an HBO fight, not HBO PPV. It is bad enough we’re being hit with the cost of the HBO subscription, but tack on a PPV fee on top of it? It’s incredibly shortsighted to limit their exposure at this critical point in Postol and Crawford’s careers. Why would HBO do this? G-R-E-E-D. Shame on them! Now the fight itself should be a really good one. Postol is great at that technical, Eastern European style of stand up boxing. Terence Crawford is a well rounded and creative fighter who can fight nearly equally well in both southpaw and orthodox stances. I think Crawford is the favorite, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Postol gets the win. It is just a shame that none of us will bother paying for this on HBO PPV…
Adrien Broner
Just when you think that this guy would learn his lesson and stop throwing his career down the tubes, he misses his mandatory court appearance related to his January 2016 assault in a bowling alley. By pulling a no-show, “Boner” was found in contempt of court and faces thirty days in jail until his August 17 return. “A.B” must stand for “annoying butt-head”. Jeez, this guy can’t get out of his own way!
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