By Jake Donovan
2008 Olympic bronze medalist Deontay "The Bronze Bomber" Wilder enjoyed a successful pro debut, scoring a second round knockout over Ethen Cox in Nashville, Tennessee.
The lone member of the ’08 Olympic boxing squad to capture a medal in the Beijing Games, Wilder enjoyed a smooth transition to the pro ranks. A traditionally slow starter, Wilder spent most of the first round of his heavyweight bout measuring up his opponent before going in with both guns blazing in the second.
A right hand sent Cox to the canvas for the bout’s first knockdown, midway through the second round. Cox (now 2-3-1, 1KO) beat the count and was rendered fit to continue, at which point Wilder wasted no time in going on the attack. Two more official knockdowns would follow, including an overhand right that put down Cox for the night.
The official time was 2:58 of round two.
Everyone in the arena seemed pleased with the performance, but one person in particular who wasn’t overwhelmed was Wilder himself.
“It was a good knockout, but I won’t settle for less,” said the 6’7” Wilder, who fought for the first time since his Olympic semifinal loss to Clemente Russo three months ago in Beijing. “There were a lot of things I didn’t take advantage of, so in my mind it wasn’t good enough.”
Given the goals he has set for him, good won’t even prove to be good enough.
“I have a long way to go from here to great.”
