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And then there were three

British boxer Anthony Joshua is the main man in boxing. (AFP / Justin Tallis)
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6th March, 2018
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Back in 2017, Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko thrust the division back into public relevancy in one of the most dramatic and pulsating heavyweight bouts in years.

Since that moment, a trans-Atlantic storm draped in stars, stripes or union jacks has been the forecast for any boxing meteorologist. On Saturday in New York City, that storm crashed and howled, sending warning signals to the stations across the pond.

The prospect of Deontay Wilder and Joshua has everyone talking. But I’m going to keep the Joshua powder dry for the moment (he still must overcome Joseph Parker) and summarise the latest developments that played out in Brooklyn, giving us a chapter in the soap opera.

It had a certain semi-final type feel about it, and the WBC Heavyweight championship of the world lived up to all pre-fight pageantry. Wilder finished Luis Ortiz in the 10th round to move us one step closer to that aforementioned megafight with an adorned British slugger.

“The Bronze Bomber” faced the biggest test of his career and he certainly silenced those decrying his willingness to jump in with a top opponent. As for his performance, well, it depends on how you look at it.

His glass is filled halfway, but the beholder determines if it’s half empty or half full.

On one hand, Wilder personifies his own surname in the ring. He swings for the fences with reckless abandon and seems to lose his compass and balance in the process.

Several times we saw those trademark windmill haymakers that look more at home on a renewable energy wind farm than in a boxing ring. He goes mad when he sniffs a chance and cares little for defence as he demonstrated when he came within seconds of being stopped in the seventh.

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He looked frustrated in the first half of the fight (minus the flash knockdown in the fourth) and was being thoroughly outboxed by the more drilled Ortiz. But for all his technical flaws he confirmed the speculation surrounding his vicious punching power, particularly his straight right.

Any opponent should avoid that hydrogen bomb at all costs.

When he airmailed it at Ortiz and it found the mailbox, poor old King Kong couldn’t return to sender. He has genuine lights out knockout power and against an ageing and tiring Ortiz, it eventually proved too much.

He also showed he has heart and a chin. Ortiz clinically battered him like a piece of cod from the chip shop in the seventh round, coming tangibly close to a stoppage of his own. How Wilder remained resolute and upright is beyond me, and I have to give him credit for that.

Deontay Wilder celebrates after knocking down Bermane Stiverne in the first round during their rematch for Wilder's WBC heavyweight title at the Barclays Center on November 4, 2017 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

As for the Cuban monster, Ortiz, he gave a good account of himself for a 38-year-old. He’s a polarising figure in boxing.

He cops some furious barbs from some for his string of failed drug tests, and some tender sympathy from others for being the most avoided man in the division for a few years.

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I’m not entirely sure where I stand with all of it, to be honest. Inside the ring, he showed enough for one to think he still has something left to give in boxing.

I hope he goes around once more to give another top heavyweight a decent fight, and make no mistake he can win. As mentioned, he came perilously close to a win in the seventh and for the most part was outboxing Wilder comfortably.

While his age is and was a factor, had that concrete right hand not caught him he was on his way to a points victory. Don’t get me started on the judging, by the way.

All three judges had Wilder ahead at the time of the stoppage which I thought was ludicrous even with the knockdown.

It made me glad for the stoppage, as it meant we avoided a postscript of corruption and foul play. Luis Ortiz would make for a tense match with both of the remaining champions, and it would be a shame to see him bow out now when the division is trending north.

At long last, the heavyweight division has some worthy adversaries pounding away. Purists might argue that your Alis and Tysons would destroy both of these men and they might be right, but I’m far less pessimistic.

They may not be in the conversation with the all-timers but they are certainly a Wilt Chamberlain-sized step up from the various tomato cans of the last decade. The division now has four names capable of winning titles, or at least capable of bludgeoning each other’s cranium to a fine paste.

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Add the missing piece of the puzzle in Tyson Fury and there’s some significant action to be held among the big boppers once more.

Keep an eye on the radar folks, the storm is coming.

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