Artur Szpilka: record, next fight and profile →
NEW YORK - American heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder defended his WBC title for the third time with a devastating ninth round knockout of Polish challenger Artur Szpilka on Saturday night, live on SHOWTIME in front of 12,668 fans at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
by Thomas Gerbasi - BROOKLYN - Poland's Artur Szpilka appeared to be perilously close to upsetting WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder before 12,668 fans at Barclays Center Saturday night, but 'The Bronze Bomber' always has the equalizer, and he fired it and landed it in the ninth round, knocking Szpilka out to retain his title for the third time.
The pre-fight tension continues to exist between Deontay Wilder and Artur Szpilka ahead of what has quickly become a grudge match. The bout headlines a card pitting a pair of heavyweight title fights - the first of is kinds to be staged in Brooklyn since 1900. Paired up with a vacant title fight between Vyacheslav Glazkov and Charles Martin, the night of heavyweight action airs live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (Saturday, Showtime 10:00 p.m. ET).
BROOKLYN - A dramatic fight week concludes tonight as WBC Heavyweight World Champion Deontay Wilder and bruising Polish contender Artur Szpilka collide live on SHOWTIME from Barclays Center.
Boxing fans have become accustomed to watching Wladimir Klitschko in a world tile bout over the last decade or so. Not that it was a bad thing. Not only did Klitschko show dominance in the division during this time, but he can be appreciated for the title unifications and the subsequent defenses over top-level competition.
If life mimics art, Artur Szpilka's world heavyweight title shot this Saturday sure bears some uncanny parallels to the 1977 academy award winning flick Rocky. And since Sylvester Stallone penned the screenplay loosely based on former fringe contender Chuck Wepner's failed attempt at wresting the heavyweight championship from Mohammad Ali in 1975, this is actually a case of life imitating art imitating life.
Polish heavyweight contender Artur Spzilka (20-1, 15KOs) says that he trained for the fight of his life. Later tonight, Szpilka will challenge heavy favorite Deontay Wilder (35-0, 34Kos) for the WBC heavyweight title at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
by Cliff Rold - Some have called it the first major card of the year in the US. Just because Saturday’s show is on premium cable (Showtime, 10 PM EST/7 PM PST), and features two different heavyweight belts on the line, doesn’t make it major. If an upset occurs in the main event, it would have reverberations. 2008 US Olympic..
Fedor Lapin, the former coach of Arthur Szpilka (20-1, 15 KOs), says WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs) could experience some issues tomorrow night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The pre-fight tension continues to exist between Deontay Wilder and Artur Szpilka, though calmer heads helped prevent additional outbursts during Friday's weigh-in ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, which also hosts Saturday's live Showtime-televised action.