Deontay Wilder keeps fighting for more than WBC title
Deontay Wilder successfully defended his WBC heavyweight title in fight after fight for five years before his 2020 technical knockout by Tyson Fury. Wilder seeks his revenge in an Oct. 9 rematch. (Amanda Westcott)
And still.
These two words have been a bold statement of Deontay Wilder’s continued dominance in the boxing ring, that he is still the World Boxing Council’s heavyweight champion.
Eight times he has stepped into the ring as a champion and each time has heard that phrase, a declaration that he remains a standard-bearer. But the most recent bout on Dec. 1, 2018, against Tyson Fury, left the Tuscaloosa native with a hollow feeling.
He was still champion and he was still undefeated. But after 41 professional fights, his record was no longer perfect.
Wilder didn’t notice “and still.”
“All I remember hearing was, ‘Draw,’” the WBC champion said. “That’s the only thing that rings in my head, a draw.”
“I don’t like draws. I believe there’s a winner and a loser in this sport,” he continued. “It can’t be no draw.”
Wilder (40-0-1) had hoped to reduce the draw to a footnote on his record by settling the score in a rematch with Fury. That second meeting has since been put on hold. The Associated Press and other outlets reported this week that WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman received confirmation from Fury that the challenger would look elsewhere for his next bout.
The Tuscaloosa native felt he was the aggressor in his most recent fight. He never feared that Fury might raise his arms in victory.
“I landed more effective punches, and to be a champion you’ve got to beat a champion,” he said. “I’ve never known no challenger to come in and be put on his backside twice and become a champion.”
Wilder has made a habit of putting more than one opponent “on his backside,” with 39 of his bouts ending in some type of knockout.
“I give people what they want to see and that’s knockouts,” he said. “When you come see Deontay Wilder fight, it’s like a suspense movie. You don’t know what’s gonna happen but when it happens, ‘Bam! Baby.’ Somebody gets knocked out and it’s good night for them.”
Deontay Wilder still undefeated, still champion, still has something to prove from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Wilder remembers having a reputation as a fighter growing up in Tuscaloosa. As he tells it, he was a quiet, shy kid who never started the fights.
“I was known to knock your head off, just plain and simple,” he said. “I didn’t look for trouble, but trouble always found me. I was getting bullied and I wasn’t taught to back away. We wasn’t taught to back away from no one.
“I was supposed to protect my brothers and sisters and make sure they were safe. I made sure I did just that.”
The 33-year-old had aspirations of becoming a professional football or basketball player. But as a student at Shelton State Community College, he learned he would soon be the father of a daughter born with spina bifida.
Kaorii Wilder, who turns 14 this month, is the oldest of his seven children. He credits her with setting him on a path into the ring, and the WBC title.
“It was a crazy time for me, a scary time for me,” the boxer said. “Being a college student, trying to live out my dreams. Now you get this call that you’re about to have a child, you’re about to bring a whole other life into this world (that) you have to take care of.”
A friend had often suggested Wilder take up boxing. Needing money, he decided to pursue it. Jay Deas, Wilder’s longtime trainer, said he wasn’t wowed by the 6-foot-7 man when he walked into Northport’s Skyy Boxing Gym.
“He definitely passed the look test,” Deas recalled. “He said he wanted to box professionally, but I hear that all the time. It was when he started working out that I saw how determined he was and how well he listened and tried to do things right.”
As Wilder progressed, Deas’ belief in his boxing student grew more and more.
“When he won the state Golden Gloves, I thought we could win regional,” the trainer said. “When he won regional, I thought, ‘Let’s get a national title!’”
That was followed by Wilder going to the Olympic Trials and ultimately earning a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, where he earned his nickname – the Bronze Bomber.
“Deontay has always exceeded people’s expectations,” Deas said. “I saw early on to never limit his potential or curb his belief. He was and is truly capable of anything.”
Despite his nearly unbridled confidence, the WBC champ knows his run will conclude someday.
“I do have a high understanding that all things come to an end,” he said. “It’s a short window. We must do what we must do in in that time frame. That’s why I’m trying to capitalize on the heavyweight division as a whole to be the one champion, one face, one name.”
“I guarantee you (in the end) one man will be standing and he hails all the way from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and he goes by the name of Deontay Wilder.”
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