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Deontay Wilder will defend the WBC heavyweight title against the WBC mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale. The fight will be held on May 18, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and will air on Showtime.
Making His Mandatory Defense
After the fallout of his negotiations with both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, Wilder was ordered by the WBC to defend his belt against his mandatory challenger which happened to be fellow American Dominic Breazeale. Wilder won the belt in 2015, when he defeated Bermane Stiverne to become the first American-born boxing heavyweight champion since Shannon Briggs in 2004.
Wilder has since successfully defended the belt a total of eight times. In his last defense, he figures in a controversial split draw against lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. He was hoping for a Fury rematch but after the Brit signed with ESPN, the deal could not be made so he ended up taking his mandatory.
For Breazeale, this will be the second time he will challenge for the world heavyweight title. Breazeale challenged Anthony Joshua for the IBF heavyweight title in 2015. He lost that fight via 7th round TKO in the only loss of his professional career.
We already handicapped this title bout in a previous article and you can read it here. As we wrote, we picked Wilder to win by knockout and we’re standing by that prediction. Now let’s take a look at the other fights in the card.
Gary Russell Jr. vs Kiko Martinez
Russell will be defending his WBC featherweight against former world champion Martinez. The 30-year old from Washington, DC who now lives in Capitol Heights in Maryland has a record of 29-1 with 17 knockouts. He stands 5-4 ½ with a reach of 64 inches while fighting as a southpaw.
Russell won his belt by knocking out Jhonny Gonzalez in 2015 and has successfully defended the belt three times already. After knockout wins over Patrick Hyland and Oscar Escandon, Russell won a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Joseph Diaz Jr in May 2018.
Martinez was the European super bantamweight title from 2007 to 2013 and then the IBF super bantamweight championship from 2013-2014. The 33-year old Spaniard has an impressive record of 39-8-2 with 28 knockouts. Martinez is 5-5 with a reach of 66 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter.
Since losing the IBF super bantamweight belt to Carl Frampton in 2014, Martinez has challenged for a world title a total of two times. He lost to Scott Quigg in 2015 and suffered another setback at the hands of Leo Santa Cruz.
Who Wins?
Kiko Martinez has the edge in size as he is two inches longer and an inch taller. But it’s very obvious that he is past his prime. On the other hand, Russell is 30 and on top of his game. When it comes to being slick inside the ring, it’s Russell who has all the advantages. This is going to be an easy points win for Gary Russell Jr. Prediction Gary Russell Jr. on points
Juan Heraldez vs Argenis Mendez
The unbeaten Heraldez continued to climb the ladder when he knocked out Eddie Ramirez last February. Prior to that, Heraldez defeated Kevin Watts by decision and then stopped Maynard Allison in 2018. He is 16-0 with 10 knockouts. He stands 5-9 and has a reach of 71 inches.
Heraldez
N/A
Mendez
N/A
Odds not yet available.
Former IBF super featherweight champion Mendez is 25-5-2 with 12 knockouts and fights out of the orthodox stance. He stands 5-9 with a reach of 70 inches while fighting at the orthodox stance. In his most recent bout, Mendez fought Anthony Peterson to a draw last March.
Who Wins?
Mendez is only 32 years old yet it looks like he’s been fighting for a long time now. Mendez is 2-2-1 in his last five bouts and is clearly on his way down. Meanwhile, Heraldez is a rising stock in the 140-pound division and he’s looking to step up his level of competition by fighting a faded former world champion in Mendez. Heraldez will be looking for the knockout here as he is trying to make a statement. Mendez won’t be an easy prey as he has only been knocked out once in five losses. Heraldez isn’t the best of pure boxers but he has enough boxing to outclass Mendez. Prediction: Juan Heraldez on points
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