Deontay Leshun Wilder is an American professional boxer.
95 Facts About Deontay Wilder
2.
Deontay Wilder held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, making 10 successful defenses.
3.
Deontay Wilder had a late start to boxing, taking up the sport at 20 years of age.
4.
Deontay Wilder is known for his exceptional punching power, having knocked out every opponent he has defeated.
5.
Deontay Wilder is a three-time winner of the Premier Boxing Champions Knockout of the Year award and a winner of the Ring magazine Knockout of the Year award.
6.
Deontay Wilder started boxing in October 2005, when he entered Skyy Boxing Gym in Northport, Alabama, and began training under Jay Deas.
7.
Deontay Wilder then competed at heavyweight in the 2008 Olympics, defeating Abdelaziz Touilbini of Algeria and Mohamed Arjaoui of Morocco before losing to Clemente Russo of Italy in the semi-final to earn a bronze medal.
8.
Deontay Wilder made his professional debut at the age of 23 on November 15,2008, at the Vanderbilt University Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee.
9.
Deontay Wilder faced Ethan Cox, winning by second-round technical knockout after knocking Cox down three times.
10.
Deontay Wilder fought seven times in 2009, winning all the fights in round one.
11.
Deontay Wilder won his first title in professional boxing when he knocked out 37-year-old Kelvin Price at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, on December 15,2012.
12.
Deontay Wilder fought patiently through the first two rounds and mostly measured Price.
13.
Deontay Wilder attempted to get to his feet, but struggled which led referee Ray Corona to wave an end to the bout.
14.
Deontay Wilder claimed the vacant WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title, which he went on to successfully defend twice.
15.
Deontay Wilder found an opening 49 seconds into the opening round and caught Harrison with a big right hand that rocked him back into the ropes.
16.
Days later, Deontay Wilder signed Al Haymon as his new advisor.
17.
Deontay Wilder caught Liakhovich with a big right hand; while Liakhovich was backed against the ropes, he went down heavily and began twitching.
18.
Days after the fight, Liakhovich filed a protest to change the outcome as 'no contest' citing that Deontay Wilder hit him with illegal punches.
19.
In February 2014 it was announced that Deontay Wilder would fight 33 year old Malik Scott in an eliminator for the WBC heavyweight title.
20.
Deontay Wilder knocked out Scott at 1:36 of the first round.
21.
Deontay Wilder started off with slow jabs and the knockout blow appeared to be a straight right hand, which many believe did not connect clearly.
22.
Deontay Wilder's corner threw in the towel after round four giving Wilder another stoppage victory.
23.
On January 17,2015, billed as "Return to Glory", Deontay Wilder fought Stiverne at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for the WBC heavyweight title.
24.
Deontay Wilder became the first American heavyweight world champion since Shannon Briggs by defeating Stiverne by a unanimous decision after twelve rounds.
25.
Deontay Wilder had some big rounds, particularly rounds two and seven, where he threw a barrage of power shots.
26.
Deontay Wilder showed that he could go twelve rounds and utilized his jab throughout.
27.
Shortly after the fight, Deontay Wilder cut his relationship with Golden Boy Promotions and Al Haymon became his new manager.
28.
On May 8,2015, Deontay Wilder announced that he would make his first defense in his home state of Alabama, which would be the first heavyweight title fight held in the state.
29.
Deontay Wilder dominated, knocking down Molina near the end of round four, twice in the fifth, and knocking him out onto his back in the ninth round.
30.
Deontay Wilder earned $1.4 million for the fight compared to Molina, who received a $250,000 purse.
31.
In front of a hometown crowd of 8,471 in attendance, Deontay Wilder beat Duhaupas by TKO in the eleventh round.
32.
In December 2015, Showtime confirmed that terms had been agreed for Deontay Wilder to defend his WBC title against Polish boxer Artur Szpilka on January 16,2016, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, where the winner would be scheduled to fight WBC mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin.
33.
Szpilka made Deontay Wilder appear wild with his punches, as Deontay Wilder missed 175 punches thrown at Szpilka, mostly head punches.
34.
Deontay Wilder reportedly earned a career-high $1.5 million compared to Szpilka who had a $250,000 purse.
35.
Deontay Wilder was not in a celebratory mood and said his concerns for Szpilka meant he was not in the mood for the confrontation with Fury.
36.
Deontay Wilder was due to make the fourth defense of his WBC heavyweight title against former WBA champion and mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin on May 21,2016 at the Megasport Arena in Moscow, Russia.
37.
Deontay Wilder claimed he is still interested in fighting and beating Povetkin in the future, as this was a fight he had trained hard for and was hoping to make a statement against an elite heavyweight.
38.
On February 14,2017, Deontay Wilder won $7 million plus legal fees after taxes, in court, over the cancellation of the fight.
39.
Deontay Wilder dominated the entire fight with his sharp jab, which caused severe swelling to Arreola's left eye.
40.
Deontay Wilder would be back at the hospital soon, likely for two surgeries, one to repair each injury.
41.
Deontay Wilder's return fight was scheduled to be in early 2017.
42.
In front of a hometown crowd of 12,346, Deontay Wilder won by TKO in round five.
43.
Washington started off strong with power punches as Deontay Wilder moved around with jabs.
44.
Midway through the fifth, Deontay Wilder got Washington against the ropes and landed a combination of power shots, the last shot being a left to the head of Washington, dropping him backwards against the ropes.
45.
CompuBox Stats showed that Deontay Wilder landed 33 of 113 punches thrown and Washington connected with 30 of his 98 thrown.
46.
On February 27,2017, the WBC ordered Deontay Wilder to fight mandatory challenger Bermane Stiverne, with negotiations to begin immediately.
47.
On July 18,2017, it was reported that a deal was being negotiated for Deontay Wilder to make his sixth defense of his WBC title against heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz.
48.
At the press conference, Deontay Wilder claimed that he was happy to be getting Stiverne out of the way.
49.
On fight night, in front of 10,924, Deontay Wilder retained his WBC title with a commanding first-round knockout.
50.
Deontay Wilder knocked Stiverne down three times before referee Arthur Mercante stopped the fight at 2:59 of the round.
51.
Deontay Wilder started the fight using his jab to keep Stiverne at distance.
52.
The final knockdown saw Stiverne against the ropes, when Deontay Wilder connected with another right, followed by a left hook to the head.
53.
Deontay Wilder weighed his lowest since turning professional in 2006, at 214 pounds.
54.
Deontay Wilder overcame difficulty and knocked Ortiz out in round ten to retain his WBC title in front of a crowd of 14,069.
55.
Deontay Wilder took control in round five, knocking Ortiz down once.
56.
Deontay Wilder was hurt badly in round seven by a left hand from Ortiz.
57.
Deontay Wilder was then trapped on the ropes taking head and body shots from Ortiz.
58.
Referee David Fields kept a close eye on Deontay Wilder and appeared to be close to stopping the fight, but Deontay Wilder survived the round.
59.
Deontay Wilder used rounds eight and nine to rest up and managed to avoid any punishment.
60.
Deontay Wilder hurt Ortiz with a right hand at the end of round nine.
61.
Deontay Wilder then unloaded on Ortiz, who at this point looked tired, in round ten in dropping him twice before the match was halted by David Fields.
62.
The last time Showtime registered over 1million viewers was in 2015 when Deontay Wilder defeated Stiverne for the WBC title.
63.
From April until the end of June 2018, both camps of Joshua and Deontay Wilder were in talks around a heavyweight unification fight.
64.
At one point Deontay Wilder had agreed to fight Joshua in the UK, however there were confusions in the contracts that were being sent back and forth.
65.
Hearn later explained that the WBA would have granted an exemption, had Deontay Wilder signed a deal to fight Joshua.
66.
Deontay Wilder was scheduled to be in Belfast to further promote the fight.
67.
Deontay Wilder tried to trap Fury into the corner, but Fury made Deontay Wilder miss most of his big swings.
68.
Deontay Wilder threw a lot of power shots which Fury mostly evaded.
69.
In round nine, Deontay Wilder dropped Fury with a short left hook followed by an overhand right.
70.
In round twelve, Deontay Wilder landed a right-left combination which put Fury down hard on his back.
71.
The crowd, commentary team and Deontay Wilder believed the fight was over.
72.
Deontay Wilder was much less accurate in this fight than he usually had been in previous fights.
73.
Deontay Wilder caught him with a powerful right which sent Breazeale flat on his back and unable to continue with the referee waving off the contest after reaching the ten count.
74.
However, despite the pre-fight animosity, the two men reconciled after the fight's conclusion, with Deontay Wilder saying "I've told him [Breazeale] I love him and I want to see him go home to his family".
75.
Deontay Wilder failed to surpass Ali's total, as he went on to lose his next fight.
76.
Deontay Wilder weighed in at a career-heaviest 231 lbs, while Fury at 273 lbs weighed in heavier for the rematch than he did for the first bout.
77.
Deontay Wilder ultimately lost the fight via seventh-round technical knockout when his trainer Mark Breland threw in the towel, losing his WBC heavyweight title in the process.
78.
Deontay Wilder landed 34 of his 141 total punches, including 18 out of 55 power punches.
79.
Subsequently, Fury's promoter Bob Arum claimed that the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas had been reserved for July 24,2021 in anticipation of Deontay Wilder's trilogy fight with Fury.
80.
Fury is the third opponent that Deontay Wilder has alluded to having intentions of killing, having previously made similar death threats in the past to Bermane Stiverne and Dominic Breazeale.
81.
That same month, it was announced that Deontay Wilder had appointed his former rival turned friend Malik Scott as his new head trainer, calling Scott a "genius".
82.
Deontay Wilder had started the first round well, jabbing the champion to the body and landing several clean right hands to his chest and stomach, doing enough to win the first round on all three judges' scorecards.
83.
Deontay Wilder came back in the fourth with a vicious short right hand that put Fury down on the canvas.
84.
Deontay Wilder continued coming forwards, and sent the champion down again towards the end of the round.
85.
The 150 punches landed on Deontay Wilder is the most ever landed by an opponent.
86.
Deontay Wilder's first child, a daughter with ex-girlfriend Helen Duncan, was born in 2005 with spina bifida.
87.
Deontay Wilder has two other daughters and one son with Jessica Scales-Deontay Wilder, whom he married in 2009 and later divorced.
88.
Deontay Wilder is currently engaged to and has a child with Telli Swift and has been featured on the reality television show, WAGS Atlanta.
89.
Deontay Wilder comes from a family of Alabama preachers, namely his father and grandmother.
90.
Deontay Wilder graduated from Tuscaloosa Central High School in 2004 and dreamed of playing football or basketball for his hometown Alabama Crimson Tide, but the birth of his oldest daughter and poor grades caused him to attend nearby Shelton State Community College and to focus on a boxing career.
91.
Deontay Wilder later revealed that during this time, he struggled with depression and had briefly contemplated suicide via gunshot.
92.
Deontay Wilder was held at Clark County Detention Center on charges of domestic battery by strangulation, and was released on a $15,000 bond.
93.
Deontay Wilder was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada and treated for her injuries.
94.
In May 2022, Deontay Wilder was honored with a statue in his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
95.
The statue is made out of bronze in homage to Deontay Wilder's fight nickname, "The Bronze Bomber".