PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Ko Specialist Specialist (ranked 23564 p4p, 488 weight class) and Deontay Wilder (ranked 23379 p4p, 489 weight class). Deontay Wilder will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Ko Specialist Specialist
vs
Wilder

210 cm
19
220 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

211 cm
21
268 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

Brawler
Prefers standup

Excellent boxer
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Ko Specialist Specialist!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Deontay Wilder!
The judges for this bout are David Hoff, Michael Johnstone and Sandra Marshall.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wilder looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
The fight stays on the outside here - Wilder looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Specialist gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Nice elbow from Specialist.

It looks like Deontay Wilder has been cut.
Specialist prevents Wilder from breaking the clinch.

Specialist's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Wilder pushes Specialist up against the ropes in a clinch.
Specialist has Wilder pressed against the ropes, preventing Wilder from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Specialist breaks from the clinch.
Specialist gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Wilder.
Wilder throws a sloppy head kick

and Specialist moves into the clinch.
Specialist throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Specialist is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Wilder is keeping busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wilder has had enough of the clinch but Specialist keeps him there for the moment.
Specialist doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Specialist's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Specialist has Wilder up against the ropes in a clinch.
Wilder throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Wilder is trying to push Specialist away but Specialist has him pressed against the ropes, so he's going nowhere.
Wilder misses with an elbow strike.

Specialist breaks from the clinch.
Specialist is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Wilder throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Specialist moves to clinch but Wilder breaks away
and Wilder counters with a one-two to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wilder looks to land a body kick but Specialist moved away.
Wilder moves in looking to clinch but Specialist pushes him off.

Specialist fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Wilder, pushing him back against the ropes.

Specialist breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
A head kick misses from Wilder.

Specialist closes the distance and clinches.
The referee is keeping an eye on Specialist - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.

Specialist pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Wilder throws a lazy head kick
and Specialist counters with a left and a right that stings Wilder.
Specialist tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Wilder counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Specialist closes the distance and clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Specialist as Wilder tries to tie him up.
Specialist is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Specialist is trying to maintain a safe position but Wilder gets an underhook and turns Specialist into the ropes.
Maybe Specialist would be better served going for some more strikes rather than trying to control so much.

Specialist breaks the clinch.
Sloppy strikes from Specialist. Those never looked like landing.
Specialist tries to close the distance and clinch up but Wilder swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Specialist closes the distance and clinches.
Knees in the clinch landing for Specialist.

Specialist escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Specialist takes the fight into the clinch.

Specialist escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Specialist tries to clinch but Wilder moves away
and Specialist takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Wilder throws a lazy body kick

and Specialist counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Specialist.

Specialist breaks the clinch.
Wilder is looking to clinch but Specialist is avoiding it.
Specialist tries to close the distance and clinch but Wilder swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Specialist misses with a double jab
and Wilder counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Wilder fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Wilder lands a glancing blow to the side of Specialist's head.
Specialist falls off balance throwing a combination
and Wilder counters with a good, hard body kick but Specialist shrugs it off.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ko Specialist Specialist dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Deontay Wilder's cut.
That's time! Specialist's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Wilder clinches.
Specialist stalling in the clinch but Wilder improves position.
Specialist really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Specialist with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Knees in the clinch landing for Specialist.

Specialist breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Wilder tries to clinch but Specialist is having none of it.
Specialist throws a left and a right that both miss
and Wilder counters with a one-two to the body.
Specialist throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Wilder.
Specialist misses with a hook to the body
and Wilder counters with a nice body shot.
Specialist goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Specialist here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Specialist is looking to clinch but Wilder is avoiding it.
Specialist throws a combination that misses
and Specialist takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Wilder misses with the combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Specialist moves to clinch but Wilder breaks away
and Wilder counters with a two punch combo.
Wilder tries to clinch but Specialist moves out of range.
Deontay Wilder seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Specialist clinches up with Wilder and pushes him back against the ropes.
Specialist tries to land knees in the clinch but Wilder avoids the damage to the body.
Wilder is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Specialist is keeping busy.

Specialist breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Wilder lands a jab-cross combination.
Specialist avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Specialist blocks a head kick by Wilder.
Wilder is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Specialist throws a body punch but Wilder moves out of range.
Wilder swats away the attempt to clinch by Specialist.
Specialist misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Specialist tries to clinch up but Wilder circles away and keeps his distance.
Specialist tries to clinch up but Wilder circles away and keeps his distance.
Wilder is looking for the big counter here.
Specialist lands a slapping body shot.
A head kick from Specialist lands but Wilder takes it in his stride.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Wilder throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Specialist tries to clinch up
and Wilder counters with a three punch combo that has Specialist backing up. Specialist nods at Wilder to acknowledge the strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Specialist ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Wilder moves away.
Specialist fails with an attempt to clinch.
Specialist tries to clinch there but Wilder circles away.
Wilder let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Specialist throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Specialist cracks Wilder with a good jab.
Specialist tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Wilder makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Wilder tries to bum rush Specialist with a series of wild strikes but Specialist uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Specialist throws a head kick that misses
and Wilder counters with a two punch combo.
Specialist is looking to clinch but Wilder is avoiding it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Specialist throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A head kick from Specialist lands but Wilder takes it in his stride.
Specialist throws a head kick that misses.
Wilder tries to close the distance and clinch but Specialist swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Wilder looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Specialist looks to clinch
and Wilder cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Wilder avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Specialist pushes Wilder up against the ropes in a clinch.
Wilder looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Wilder misses with a knee to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Deontay Wilder will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Deontay Wilder's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Specialist moves in looking to clinch but Wilder pushes him off.
Specialist wants to clinch
and Wilder counters with a one-two to the body.
Specialist avoids the head kick by Wilder.
Specialist tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Wilder paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Despite the aggression on Wilder's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Specialist avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Specialist connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Wilder's hands.
Specialist scores with a hook.
Specialist tries to clinch up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Specialist rushes Wilder and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.

Specialist breaks from the clinch.

Specialist takes the fight into the clinch.
Specialist keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Wilder's efforts to push away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Specialist is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Wilder struggles to land a body shot inside as Specialist controls his hands.

Specialist pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Specialist pushes Wilder up against the ropes in a clinch.
Wilder wants to get back to striking at distance but Specialist won't allow it.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Specialist misses with the head strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Specialist's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Specialist closes the distance and pushes Wilder back into the ropes.
The fighters are pressed against the ropes, as the pace of the fight slows.
Knees to the body from Specialist.

Specialist breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Ko Specialist Specialist is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Specialist wants to clinch.
Wilder follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
Specialist tries to clinch up
and Wilder cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wilder tries to close the distance and clinch but Specialist swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Specialist is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Wilder looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Specialist tries to clinch there but Wilder circles away.
Wilder shapes to counter with a head kick.
Wilder thumps Specialist with a low kick.
Specialist tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Wilder is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.

Wilder tries to keep at a distance but Specialist has taken the fight into the clinch.
Specialist taking a breather.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Wilder pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Specialist is looking to clinch but Wilder is avoiding it.

Specialist clinches up with Wilder and pushes him back against the ropes.
Specialist pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
Wilder lands a left hand.
Ko Specialist Specialist has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Wilder letting Specialist take a breather here.

Specialist breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Wilder tries a head kick but it misses.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Specialist lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Wilder circles away quickly and effectively.
Wilder steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Specialist.
Specialist pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Specialist wants to clinch but Wilder slips to the side
and Wilder counters with a series of strikes. Specialist will be more careful next time no doubt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ko Specialist Specialist showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Specialist has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 29:28
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sandra Marshall scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ko Specialist Specialist!