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Wilder vs Helenius: Boxing pros react to Deontay Wilder’s sensational knockout return

Deontay Wilder was his old self with a first round KO of Robert Helenius

Deontay Wilder was his old self with a first round KO of Robert Helenius
Deontay Wilder was his old self with a first round KO of Robert Helenius
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

Deontay Wilder did Deontay Wilder stuff in his return to the ring, scoring a devastating first round knockout win over Robert Helenius at his favorite venue, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KO) keeps up his career run of knocking out everyone he’s ever faced except for Tyson Fury, and heaven knows he did his best to knock out Tyson Fury. Helenius (31-4, 20 KO) was a huge underdog, of course, and even the exact result and the way this happened probably doesn’t surprise anyone, but it’s still always pretty crazy to see Wilder’s power in action.

I mean, he didn’t even fully extend on the punch.

As for what could be next, the WBC have a plan in place to match Wilder with fellow PBC star Andy Ruiz Jr in a super ultra mega duper for sure eliminator, probably with some novelty belt they have made up also “on the line,” and Wilder has mentioned WBA/IBF/WBO titleholder Oleksandr Usyk, too, and Usyk has said he would want to fight Wilder.

Here’s what the pros had to say about Wilder’s return:

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