I'm pleased for Gerald Washington

I think Washington's issue is that he doesn't handle pressure well, and his power is lacking enough not to deter pressure fighters. In a fight at range he has a decent chance and his stamina holds (like in the Helenius fight) but when in against two great pressure fighters he did noticeably wilt.

 

Apart from taking several rounds off Wilder and beating a past his prime Helenius, what has he done? He was dominated by Miller in every round and even Knownacki made short work of him.

 

**** off mate.
I have seen every Washington fight since 2014. And yes, he has stamina issues. Which was extremely evident in the Nofire, Miller, Mansour and Chambers fights.
Being ripped has nothing to do with stamina.

And you failed to see why I compared him to Stiverne.

 

We're talking about the Helenius fight, which you obviously didn't see. Because you talked about Washington's stamina issues in that fight, and he didn't have any.

Don't comment on fights you haven't seen. Because you clearly didn't see this one before writing that.

 

Knocking out alcoholic and shot Hellenius cold, who for all we know was coming off a KO in sparring prior to the fight doesn’t qualify you as legit power or top 15.

The manner in which Kownacki took his soul away from him proves to me he isn’t top 15. He is at best top 25.

 

Washington and Helenius are way way down in the lower leagues of the heavyweight division.
Helenius was a promising contender in 2011, 8 years ago. Then he needed a gift decision against Chisora at the end of that year, and he's been nothing since then.
Washington's never been a real contender. He's an average heavyweight.

Washington v Helenius is not a meaningful fight at all, surely, in terms of rankings and stuff like that.
But guys like this can be very entertaining matched together, and this fight produced a brutal KO finish, the crowd get their money's worth and the two of them get paid and justify themselves as professional boxers, so no complaints from me about that.

 

Please. Washington opened the fight with his hands up relatively high. He was always ready to cover up or to defend himself. And he kept his pawing jab out there at all times.
By the fifth round his hands were lowered and his jab wasn't as active. He got really sloppy at times as well.

Washington was lucky that Helenius had even less stamina. Robert was often just standing tall with his chin up and mouth wide open.

Robert Helenius isn't one to push a pace, so while Washington did slow down significantly, he didn´t gas.

 

Just saw the fight yesterday. You got to give credit for just keeping coming and being able to launch that bomb that Helenius could not recover from and continue. As for Helenius, he looks done as a contender.

 

Exactly. Washington was never a legitimate top contender. Fringe at best. Hell... Many myself included thought Nagy did enough to beat him but fell victim to the Al Haymon special - Mansour was clearly robbed of a win. The only named fighters he has clear wins over were well passed their sell by date.

 

He was done as a contender in 2012-2013 when he labored with Sprott and Williams. Hand injuries and BS with Sauerland were the nails in the coffin. He probably was never a top guy but at his peak he wouldn't be losing to the likes of Duhaupas and Washington - Hell, I don't think he would have lost to Whyte.

 

Hes actually made a surprising comeback in regards to relativity.
He was in relative obscurity before Duhaupas flattened him. But he continued being active. Fought 3 times in 2015 and did the same in 2016.
And he fought again 3 times in 2018.

I keep telling everyone, that one of the biggest keys to success in modern boxing is to stay active, regardless of opposition. It always opens doors for bigger and better things.

 

Only reason why he kept going I think was because he's a hero in Finland and can make money fighting anyone there (that and maybe looking to get a long enough streak going for a voluntary cash out against one of the big names) If he fought Danny Williams there tomorrow it would be a sellout crowd. Abroad he banked on being a former top contender. Id like to see him throw the towel in maybe after a few farewell fights against cans in Finland.

 

You left out he has terrible footwork , and no balance . That was a terrible fight, two stiffs with little going for them. Helenius had the head movement of a telephone pole, if Washington had just closed his eyes and threw an overhand right he couldn't have missed. This will be used as an excuse for Washington to get a decent payday with a better fighter,,,,and he'll get knocked out again.

 

It's a pretty nice win over a guy that most observers here thought would beat him. I don't think it's a springboard to lasting success, but if Washington proves me wrong, then good for him.

 

Washington is a high level gatekeeper, and that's not a bad $ position for a heavyweight to be. The question is how long he wants to hang around and continue to get hit, but so far so good. You don't have to be championship level to make the sport work for you, provided you get out in time.