Undefeated heavyweight who knocked out Wilder is brutally KO'd for the first time
BEFORE his stunning triple-header with Tyson Fury, the last man to stop Deontay Wilder was a boxer named Evgeny Romanov.
Wilder had to deal with Romanov in 2008 when he traveled to Novosibirsk for a match between Russia and the US.
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Romanov won the amateur fight after three decisive rounds in which he had an answer to everything the Bronze Bomber could throw at him.
Fast forward to 2024, and Romanov has both the 2008 silver and 2009 Russian Championship gold medals to his name.
The 38-year-old even had an undefeated record of 19 professional fights with 12 knockouts to his name.
Looking back on the Wilder fight thirteen years later, he said in an interview with RT: “It was a long time ago. I honestly don't think about it much.
“Wilder was different then than he is now. I was different too.
“Today it's a different time, Wilder is at the top and I'm on my way there.
“It might have been the other way around then, so I don't want to remember or think about it.”
However, Romanov is now on the receiving end of a knockout for the first time.
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On Saturday night, Romanov took on Chinese fighter Zhaoxin Zhang in a final eliminator to fight for the WBA's new “super-cruiserweight” title.
It looked like Romanov would go according to plan after knocking down Zhang in the first round.
But in the second round, Zhang came flying out of the blocks and landed a series of punches with Romanov decked out on the canvas.
Romanov desperately tried to get back to his feet, but was unable to do so as he was counted out by the referee.
Meanwhile, Wilder hasn't fared much better lately, losing his last fight to Joseph Parker in December.
The American has attributed the loss to a 20-hour flight and a lack of sparring as the reason for the defeat.
It thwarted plans for a superfight with Britain's Anthony Joshua, who has since announced a showdown with ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou.