Deontay Wilder stops Jason Gavern after four rounds

Deontay Wilder preserved his standing for a WBC world heavyweight title shot tonight on Showtime Extreme, stopping club veteran Jason Gavern after four rounds, when Gavern retired from the fight due to fatigue and, well, hopelessness.

Gavern (25-16-4, 11 KO) gave as much effort as an out of shape also-ran heavyweight can be expected to give, coming out in the first round swinging some wild right hands that did clip WIlder a couple times, which was enough to legitimately give Gavern the opening round, as Wilder (32-0, 32 KO) kept his deadly right hand holstered the entire three minutes, perhaps to get in some rounds -- otherwise, any right hand could have ended the fight.

Wilder did a bit more in round two, taking that one, and kept distance easier by so much as flicking out his long jab, and then dropped Gavern on a borderline rabbit punch in round three, putting him down again in round four. In the fourth round, Gavern and referee Jack Reiss stole the show, as Reiss asked Gavern if there was something wrong, and Gavern replied, "Do you have any oxygen?" Reiss could only smile and lightly chuckle.

Gavern made it out of that round, but was clearly finished physically, and all he could do from there was get hurt whenever Wilder landed a bomb. So he stopped the fight himself, telling his corner to call it off, and that was that. For Wilder, this was just a night to stay sharp and focused on his career, and for Gavern, well, he gave us some laughs and a little fun.

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