Deontay Wilder may have a loss on his record but he hasn’t lost an ounce of confidence.
The Bronze Bomber believes that he is still destined to be a great heavyweight champion.
That claim may seem absurd considering Tyson Fury’s defeat in February 2020.
He is a fighter who has defended the WBC title in 10 straight fights and doesn’t care what others think.
Although his 44-fight record has been marred by a few minor injuries, he remains as determined as ever.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The American insists he is coming for blood when he finally gets his chance to regain the WBC heavyweight title on October 9 in Las Vegas.
The two will be meeting again in the city where Fury won a seventh-round victory.
We will have to wait 19 months to see the pair again. It has been 19 months since Fury and Wilder last fought in the ring together.
While a lot has happened, the question is still the same: Can Wilder answer?
This is Wilder’s last chance at revenge, but does that mean he will be able to silence all those who have criticised him since his first career defeat.
“I don’t have anything to prove to anybody,” Wilder, who has brutally killed 41 of his 42 victims, said.
“All of my career in boxing, people have always doubted me and I’ve always proved them wrong.
“I don’t stress over things that I can’t control.
“If people dislike you or they’re haters of yours or envious of you, they won’t see it any other way no matter how much you prove them wrong.
“Everything I’ve done in my career, people said I couldn’t do.
“They’ve never been happy so what will change with this fight? I don’t have anything to prove.
“This is me moving on with my career for myself and the people who support me.
“This is a trilogy, we are getting what was contracted and signed. I just want to follow through with it and get back what is mine.
“You are looking at the best heavyweight in all the generations and everyone will witness it again on October 9. I can’t wait to show it.”
But he must bounce back. Wilder’s defeat to Fury caused changes within his camp. Wilder began to plan his return, even in the MGM Grand dressing room, just minutes after losing the WBC heavyweight championship.
Mark Breland was the ex-Olympic gold medallist and former world champion. He was then fired.
Jay Deas, Jay’s other trainer, was retained as the coach while Malik Scott, a friend and ex-oppose, was replaced.
Wilder appears to be refocused and renewed, even though the bitterness of losing is still present.
The Bronze Bomber thinks that Fury’s defeat was a positive because it made him more confident.
(Image: Getty Images)
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“People lose every day through life, a loss doesn’t define me as a person or as a man,” he stated.
“And in boxing that loss doesn’t define me because it wasn’t a loss that was done fair and square.
“If anything it motivated me. It made me a better person, it made me even more confident in myself.
“It made me confident in what I’m going to do on October 9 and what I’m going to do moving forward in my future in my career.
“It is a blessing in disguise what happened. It changed me in so many different ways.
“My words are not even enough to explain and describe it, you will have to witness it and see. Only then will everyone understand what I mean.”
(Image: Instagram)
This third fight should have taken place in July 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the fight.
All the talk was about Fury, a British star who faced Anthony Joshua, a champion WBA/IBF/WBO.
Fury claimed that he was free from the Wilder contract. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn blasted the drum while he shouted that all roads lead to Saudi Arabia for their undisputed clash.
Wilder’s crew worked behind the scenes to ensure they received what their binding contract allowed them to: a third fight.
Their team felt like they had been neglected, but they knew that they wouldn’t be dismissed.
Wilder, along with his managers Shelly Haymon and Al Haymon, waited their turn and finally got what they wanted from Daniel Weinstein, the US arbitrator.
Hearn was furious and Joshua was furious.
Wilder was not happy to stop Joshua and Hearn from getting a big payday despite their past verbal sparring sessions.
“There wasn’t no enjoyment in it at all,” he said.
“We had a contract that had to be fulfilled.
“I knew the Joshua fight wouldn’t happen regardless. I didn’t have any feelings towards it all.
“I let them do what they did, they falsely advertised something but I knew what the deal was.
“When you have a white piece of paper and some black ink on it, then you’re signed to it and if you don’t follow through with that then there are consequences with that action.”
Wilder might not be motivated to prove doubters wrong, but he doesn’t seem willing to let go of his conviction that he was unfairly beaten 18 months ago by the Gypsy King.
This is what Wilder seems to use to motivate himself to exact his revenge. He has made the motto in his camp “an eye for an eye”.
(Image: Getty Images)
“It is more personal now,” added Wilder. “I lifted him out of a dark place, I allowed him to breathe, I gave him money to feed his family and he went and crossed me.
“I am a man of honesty, I am a man of truth. If you do something fair and square, you can handle it. “If not then any man will seek revenge.
“It is an eye for an eye, it is payback, we want it back in blood.
“To my fans, my lovers, my haters the message is: don’t blink.”