Deontay Wilder again found himself in tough with a guy that most predicted he would do away with quickly. To his credit, Duhaupas took some absolutely hellish shots and should be taken to a medical facility as soon as possible.
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Duhaupas’ toughness cannot even be slightly questioned. He was certainly stopped, but was stopped on his feet and had never touched the canvas which says a lot. In the press conference afterwards when asked if he could continue in the 11th he replied, “Sincerely, yes.”
The first round saw Wilder flashing the jab and utilizing foot movement. The second was more of the same with him adding the left to the mix.
In the 3rd Wilder looked as if he would close the show early, landing flush shots on the challenger with no answer. In the process Duhaupas managed to land a damaging right that would become a major factor later in the fight.
Round 5 was a great round for Wilder as he was able to uncharacteristically do some great bodywork while stunning Duhaupas a few times in the process.
Duhapaus was able to show his craftiness throughout the fight many times, slipping punches or holding when he got in trouble.
Round 9 was the best for him as he was able to land quality jabs and a few right hands as well. In the 11th referee Jack Reiss had seen enough as he stopped the fight at 55 seconds.
The scores at the time of the stoppage were 100-90, 99-91, and 99-90.
Also on the card was Olympic qualifier Dominic Breazeale looked to continue to his undefeated streak as a pro in Birmingham, AL on Friday night against rugged challenger Fred Kassi. He did so, even if others may have seen it different.
Kassi proved to be a very game opponent for Breazeale. His attack consisted of keeping range and very effective counter punching.
The first round was monotone as expected with both fighters assessing the challenge in front of them.
The 2nd round was the same until Kassi landed an uppercut late that noticeably got the attention of Breazeale.
The middle rounds blended together as Breazeale followed Kassi around the ring landing in between the counterpunching; Kassi was content to counterpunch, which he did very well throughout.
Breazeale wobbled Kassi in the 9th, but other than that he was unable to hurt him. Kassi was able to land the cleaner and more effective punches throughout, the judges thought other wise.
A case may have been made that he won the bout based on activity. However, a 10-0 round for him is nothing short of ridiculous.
You have to feel for Kassi as this is the 2nd fight in a row where he has received a highly questionable loss. The final scores were 97-93, 98-92, and 100-90.
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