PBC: Wilder vs Washington & Undercard Analysis

By Geoff
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Updated: February 22, 2017

Heavyweight boxing is in an interesting state right now where it isn’t quite good but isn’t all bad as it once was. There still is Wladimir competing at the top level after ruling the division for a couple years. A few young names rise to the top such as Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker, and yours truly, Deontay Wilder. Then you have guys like Povetkin(caught doping multiple times), Luis Ortiz(old, former doper). The top guys have basically been relegated to fighting whoever’s ranked and none of them really look anything special. Hopefully after this Gerald Washington fight gets out of the way, Wilder challenges the other belt holders in the division so we can avoid watching mismatches.

Deontay Wilder 37-0(36 KO) vs Gerald Washington 18-0(12 KO)

Since winning the title over Stiverne, Wilder has faced the murderer’s row of Eric Molina, Johann Duhaupas, Artur Szpilka and Chris Arreola. I will say that he did earnestly try to fight Povetkin, who would’ve been his toughest test, but alas, PED’s.

Gerald Washington is a fight that nobody wanted for Wilder but neither was Wawrzyk so maybe we’ll get something unexpected! Washington is 6’6” with an 82” reach! He’s also a former football player so expect that to be mentioned over and over during the night. Washington struggled to a draw against Amir Mansour and looked quite sloppy and unspectacular in a fight that the few who watched on PBC believed that he lost.

Flat out. Wilder is gonna win this. By a brutal knockout. He is flawed enough that possibly Washington gives him a solid fight by I don’t see anything special about Washington’s boxing or footwork or defense or power that makes me think he has a real shot. Perhaps if Washington pumps the jab, consistently counters Wilder and turns into a taller Larry Holmes he has a shot for an upset. I doubt it though. PBC is always good for an upset though. Wilder by KO

Now on to the interesting fights.

Jarrett Hurd 19-0(13 KO) vs Tony Harrison 24-1(20 KO)

This is a Junior Middleweight title fight now that Jermall Charlo has officially moved up to the Middleweight division. Here we have two young, hungry and highly talented prospects going at it. The best fight on the card. Jarrett Hurd has looked dominant and in all of his recent televised fights but he’s facing another massive JMW who stands the same 6’1” that he does with a similar 76” reach. Harrison almost feels a bit more skilled than Hurd and technical but the gap isn’t much. The only difference is that Harrison has been knocked out before against Willie Nelson(a fight he was dominating) whereas Hurd has looked unstoppable.

For Hurd to win he needs to impose himself on Harrison and make it a dog fight. I think he has the strength advantage in this fight and is definitely more willing to fight on the inside. They’re evenly matched physically so it will be a tough test. He’s going to have to cut the ring off and pressure Harrison as much as he can because Harrison is a very good mover. While that is true, Harrison also has power so he can’t come in with disdain like he has for some previous opponents. Hurd has shown some good head movement and a shoulder roll (though I’m skeptical about the use of shoulder roll from some of these young dudes).

Harrison has the advantage here in hand and footspeed. Not a massive advantage but enough that we should be able to notice the difference. I think if Harrison moves and allows Hurd to come to him he can counter effectively and move. I don’t believe he should move a la Lara, but move just enough to make Hurd think and have to reset. We’ve seen Harrison be able to fight effectively this way in multiple fights and punch with power. Harrison needs to stay away from the ropes and the inside fighting because Hurd excels at that and can really get off if you let him.

I’m picking Hurd here by Decision but this is such an evenly matched fight that you could probably go either way.

Izu Ugonoh 17-0(14 KO) vs Dominic Breazale 17-1(15 KO)

Remember how I was talking about how weak the Heavyweight division is nowadays? Well, one of the hopes here is that Ugonoh is legit. Until now Ugonoh has faced virtually nobody. His resume is bare bones. What better test than Breazale who would instantly give his resume some credibility. Breazale himself is coming off of a knockout against Anthony Joshua where he was dominated in every round and while he hasn’t necessarily been impressive in the fights preceding that, he’s still better than some of the other in the division.

Ugonoh is 6’5” with a massive 84” reach while Breazale is 6’7” with an 81” reach. Incredible physical matchup. Ugonoh’s big weapon is his straight right hand but his jab is also very powerful. His footwork is pretty decent at times and he’s shown some ability to work to the body. Breazale is an imposing guy with no particular great skill other than power.

I’m going with Ugonoh by KO. He’s more mobile and I think he has more dimensions than Breazale. Breazale is there to be hit to the body and to the head and if Ugonoh is as powerful as his record indicates, he should be able to get him out of there.