Last night on ShoBox, we had plenty of entertainment, as Deontay Wilder and Jermall Charlo scored early TKO wins, and Francisco Vargas wore out Brandon Bennett over 10 rounds in a meeting of unbeaten super featherweights. Here are some post-fight thoughts from the fighters and Showtime analyst Steve Farhood. Also on the undercard, Gary Russell Jr took ten rounds to round and shut out Juan Ruiz. And Shane Mosley was sitting ringside with a monkey. I dunno.
Steve Farhood, Showtime Sports
"The victims of the two knockouts had never been overwhelmed in that decisive a manner and that makes the wins of Charlo and Wilder noteworthy. For contrast, Vargas' victory was a good ol' fashioned beat-down. For a fighter (Vargas) to go 10 hard rounds like that after suffering a terrible cut and going past the fourth round for the first time was in its own way just as impressive as the two devastating knockouts.''
Deontay Wilder
"I'm just blessed with tremendous power. I don't depend on it, but it is there. I think my real secret isn't power. It's my speed. I think people hear about all my KO's and tend to overlook that.
"I think all my KO's are helping me get a lot of people's attention and I love that. I embrace it. I think more people are now starting to feel that maybe I can be the guy who brings the heavyweight title back to America. Honestly, I would love to be that guy.''
Francisco Vargas
"I knew this fight was going to be complicated but I knew with pressure I could win. I was scared when I got cut because in the ring you can't tell how big of a cut it is. All the preparation and hard work that I did in the mountains of Otomi in Mexico paid off. I am very happy with this fight and with my performance.''
Brandon Bennett
"His strength and speed didn't surprise me. I just didn't stick to my game plan. I should have stayed in the middle of the ring. I thought I had him after the first two rounds, but he closed the gap on me in the third and that got me out of my game plan. Instead of just throwing, I waited. Maybe we'll meet again one day.''
Jermall Charlo
"I wasn't surprised at all that the fight ended so quickly. The fight went exactly as I expected. Everything my trainer, Ronnie Shields, said would happen happened. This is a great feeling. We accomplished everything we trained for and did exactly what we wanted to do.''
Antwone Smith
"My weight issues had nothing to do with this. I felt normal - until I got hit.''