Artur Szpilka left Barclays Center on a stretcher tonight after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands (specifically, the right hand) of Deontay Wilder, who holds one of the 9000 world heavyweight titles.
Wilder actually holds the WBC belt, which is at least as valuable as the WBO title (which Tyson Fury has held ever since beating Klitschko) and the IBF belt (which is, as of yesterday, held by someone named Charles Martin). But if you judge title legitimacy based on when and where a match is aired, uh, this one was on Showtime. Artur Szpilka came into the fight with a 20-1 professional record, and the Polish pugilist put up quite a fight against Wilder—until being knocked out cold in the ninth round.
Fury himself showed up later and nearly caught hands after invading the ring to talk shit WWE-style.
Maybe heavyweight boxing is exciting again!?
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