Deontay Wilder delivered another breathtaking knockout Saturday night at Barclays Center.
The former WBC heavyweight champion knocked Robert Helenius cold with one of his trademark right hands late in the first round of his comeback bout from his own devastating defeat to Tyson Fury 53 weeks earlier in Las Vegas. Helenius rushed forward, face-first, as Wilder backed toward a neutral corner and paid the ultimate price, as Wilder drilled him with a right hand that knocked Helenius flat on his back.
Referee Michael Griffin considered counting, but he didn’t bother once he realized the 38-year-old Helenius was in no condition to continue. The official time of the stoppage was 2:57 of the first round.
Robert has the heart of a champion and I knew what he was capable of,” Wilder said. “I didn’t take him lightly at all. I know that he really wanted this. When you fight Deontay Wilder, you have to have you’re A-plus-plus game. … I set him up. I allowed him to reach and when he reached, I attacked. It was a great fight.”
Wilder’s win punctuated his return from his costly loss to the undefeated Fury in their third WBC heavyweight title fight last October 9. Fury viciously knocked out Wilder in the 11th round after surviving two fourth-round knockdowns at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 36-year-old Wilder, of Tuscloosa, Alabama, improved to 43-2-1 and recorded his 42nd knockout by annihilating Helenius. Finland’s Helenius (31-4, 20 KOs), one of Wilder’s former sparring partners, lost by knockout for the third time in his star-crossed career.
