New heavyweight era opens up

THE HEAVYWEIGHT division continued its metamorphosis into one of boxings most exciting as a tumultuous Saturday night, January 16, saw Londoner David Haye make a devastating come-back, unified champion Tyson Fury storm an American ring to challenge Deontay Wilder, and a new champion in the mix.

After three years out the ring following shoulder surgery, former undisputed cruiserweight champion and one-time heavyweight king David Haye obliterated an overmatched challenger Mark de Mori with a no-nonsense first round knockout.

The fight puts Haye, 35, back in the heavyweight mix and he will fancy his chances against any of the three current champions, although Tyson Fury has explicitly ruled out a match-up as Haye twice pulled out of previous bouts with the “Gypsy King”.

A potential match-up with upcoming undefeated prospect and Olympic gold medallist Anthony Joshua is also on the cards in what would be an intriguing bout between London and generational rivals.

Meanwhile WBC champ Deontay Wilder abruptly ended the valiant challenge of Polish Artur Szpilka at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York, with a pole-axing right hand in the ninth round.

That was, however, just the beginning of the excitement, as WBO/WBA champion Tyson Fury, who dethroned Wladimir Klitschko in November, stormed into the right to face-off with the undefeated Alabama native.

A unification bout between the two will be hotly anticipated but depends on Fury once again defeating the aging Klitschko in a summer rematch, while Wilder has a tough mandatory on his hands in Russian Alexander Povetkin.

WIth Fury being stripped of his IBF belt, a new champion was destined to appear in the fray and Charles Martin took that position with a disappointing victory over Vyacheslav Glazkov after the Ukrainian badly injured his knee.