SONAHR: June 14, 2015 – When Deontay ?The Bronze Bomber? Wilder won the WBC heavyweight title from Bermane Stiverne earlier this year, he said he would make his first defense in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. He kept that promise on Saturday, thrilling his supporters with a ninth-round knockout of challenger Eric Molina. Molina had also hit the deck once in the fourth frame and twice in the fifth. Wilder?s right hand, which had been broken during his one-sided decision over Stiverne, appears to have healed perfectly. It was a big right that ended the game Molina?s evening.
Although Wilder gave his fans what they wanted, he also indulged in a dubious option that is sometimes ? but not always ? taken by newly-crowned heavyweight champions the first time they put their crowns on the line. That option is the ?gimme? defense, in which the opponent is a fighter who has no hope of winning.
George Foreman exercised the ?gimme? choice back in 1973, when he demolished Jose ?King? Roman after annihilating Joe Frazier in two rounds earlier that year. Roman was at best a fringe contender, posting wins over the likes of Chuck Wepner and Jack O?Halloran. But he didn?t make it past the first round with Foreman.
After Muhammad Ali won the title from Foreman in 1974, his first defense was also a ?gimme? ? against Wepner, who was stopped in the 15th and final round, but not before scoring a disputed knockdown of ?The Greatest? and inspiring a young actor named Sylvester Stallone to write the script for his first Rocky movie.
Nearly 20 years later, Riddick Bowe (who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame this weekend) opted to make the first defense of the title he had won in a grueling war with Evander Holyfield against Michael Dokes, a former WBA champion whose best days were well behind him. Dokes didn?t last a round.
Molina fits the profile of the ?gimme? opponent. Even though he went into the Wilder fight with only one defeat on his ledger, that loss was a one-round knockout at the hands of banger Chris Arreola three years ago. Ultimately, Molina performed far better against Wilder than Dokes or Roman did against Bowe and Foreman. Unlike Wepner, however, he didn?t come within seconds of lasting the distance, nor did he score a knockdown ? questionable or otherwise ? of the champion.
All-in-all, Molina gave a good account of himself, he gave Wilder a good workout, and his game effort gave the Birmingham crowd their money?s worth. If nothing else, he has established himself as a useful yardstick by which up-and-coming contenders can measure their talent. Maybe someone will make a Rocky-style movie about him someday.
As for Wilder, he got his ?gimme? out of the way, and honored his pledge to his hometown fans. Bigger game, such as Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko, looms on the horizon. With his right hand returned to wrecking-ball form, the ?Bronze Bomber? promises to bring back a level of excitement the heavyweight division has not seen since the heyday of Mike Tyson.
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During the Hall of Fame festivities in Canastota, former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez announced his retirement from boxing. Given the chronic injuries that hampered him late in his career and led to his downfall against Miguel Cotto last year, that was the right decision for the Argentine known as ?Maravilla? to make. Martinez will be remembered for his spectacular victories over Kelly Pavlik and Paul Williams, and his devil-may-care, hands-down ring style. Whether or not he will one day get his own plaque at Canastota is open to question. But he certainly deserves to be on the Hall of Fame ballot.
