What Does the Future Hold for Deontay Wilder?

With only three punches, the American giant Deontay Wilder showed that he is not yet finished in boxing. With a bit of luck, he will be able to fulfill his prophecy and remain active for another three years in the sport.

On October 15^th, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, he stayed true to what he knows how to do best, which is to punch with tremendous power. “The Bronze Bomber” (43-2-1, 42 KOs) anesthetized the Finn, Robert Helenius (31-4-0, 20 KOs), in the first round.

It was an early gift for Wilder, born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who will turn 37 next Saturday, October 22. And he did it in a big way, following two consecutive losses against Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) in 2020 and 2021, both by way of knockout. Their first matchup in 2018 resulted in a draw.

In this elimination fight at Barclays Center, Wilder started off slippery, constantly moving around the ring. He seemed to shy away from exchanges, in obvious respect for the European’s punch. But in the final stages of the first round, Wilder took advantage of the fact that Helenius had lowered his protective left hand and then launched a right hand bomb, which embedded itself in the middle his opponent’s face.

Consequently, Helenius fell on his back like a heavy burden, with a lost look and completely knocked out. After sending Wilder into a neutral corner, referee Michael Griffin ruled Helenious out of action with just three seconds left in the round. At the end of the fight, Wilder said that Robert has the heart of a champion, and knowing what he was capable of, Wilder claims he didn’t take him lightly. “I set him up,” said Wilder. “I allowed him to reach and when he reached, I attacked. It was a great fight”.

Wilder noted that he had a good camp, in which he sparred more than 700 rounds. He said that he and his support team had worked to make the preparation fun. In his previous fight, last October, Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) lost by way of knockout in the eleventh round against British behemoth Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas, in the third fight between the two.

Two years earlier, Fury snatched the WBC belt from Wilder by a spectacular seventh-round knockout at the MGM Grand Grand in Las Vegas where Wilder was making his tenth defense of the WBC belt.

Wilder said that after the second loss, he walked away from boxing completely and didn’t even watch other fights for a long time. During this period, he hinted that perhaps the third fight against Fury was the last of his professional career.

But as time heals all wounds, even mental ones, a few months ago Wilder opened the doors to possibly fighting again. On February 25, there was a glimpse of a ray of hope. During the inauguration of a full-size statue that was unveiled in his honor in his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Wilder said that he would continue his journey.

While still in the ring at Barclays Center, Wilder responded to a question saying, “I’ve been hearing rumors about Oleksandr Usyk, but he’s not here, is he? When guys see these knockouts, they turn the corner away from me.” He continued, “I’m ready for whatever. Whether it’s Andy Ruiz or Usyk. I’m ready. Deontay is back, and the excitement in the heavyweight division is back.”

Located at the top of the WBC rankings, and now with that victory in the elimination fight, Wilder is ratified as a possible mandatory rival of the British Fury, who currently holds the WBC belt of that body, which he took from Wilder in February 2020.

In dialogue with ESPN, Fury stated that his adversary will not be his English countryman Anthony Joshua, whom he has hurled countless insults at. He will not collide with Usyk for the rest of the year, nor will he face off with Mahmoud Charr, the Lebanese based in Germany whom he initially courted on social networks and later eliminated from the list.

The “Gypsy King” hinted a few days ago that his immediate opponent could be Derek “War” Chisora (33-12-0, 23 KOs), but said that the contract hadn’t yet been signed. However, London promoter Frank Warren, of the Queensberry Promotions company, who guides Fury’s promotional work, revealed in great detail that Fury will face Chisora for the third time, in December.

Warren told iFL.tv that after negotiations with Joshua’s group had broken down, they started looking for an opponent for Fury. And now they are planning for him to fight Chisora in December, as he is the highest ranked opponent.

FURY HAS TWO WINS AGAINST CHISORA

Although Fury and Warren praise Chisora, he is not really a rival that meets the expectations of the fans, like Joshua or Usyk, especially since with the latter, four titles would have been at stake.

Chisora, 38, born in the city of Mbare, Zimbabwe and currently living in Finchley, London, was victorious over Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev by split decision, on July 9, in the 02 Arena, Greenwich, England. Prior to that, he suffered three consecutive failures, two of them last year against New Zealander Joseph Parker, and the other against Usyk, in 2020.

Chisora faced Fury on two occasions. In their first meeting on July 23, 2011, which had the British heavyweight title as an incentive, the African fell by unanimous decision.

Three years later, on November 29, 2014, Chisora again succumbed to Fury. The fight took place in London, where they fought for the British, European and WBO belts. This time Chisora’s corner threw in the towel at the end of the tenth round, preventing the beating from continuing.

Article submitted by Jorge Juan Alvarez in Spanish.

Please note any adjustments made were for clarification purposes and any errors in translation were unintentional.

Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp / SHOWTIME

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE