sport news Deontay Wilder eyes bouts against Fury and Joshua before final bell rings trends now
The fuse is lit, the clock ticks down. Three years from now, boxing’s Bronze Bomber will detonate one final time. It promises to be an explosive, gory goodbye.
As his 37th birthday draws near, Deontay Wilder has chosen when he will bow out. Now he must decide how. And with whom. Even after the bombs fall silent, do not expect him to go quietly.
‘Once my boxing career is over, I’m going to devote my time to producing and making music. That’s where my heart is,’ Wilder says.
Deontay Wilder has said he is 'soaking in peace and happiness' ahead of his New York return
The next date is in the diary: October 15 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to face Robert Helenius.
Other engagements are pencilled in. A fourth fight with Tyson Fury is ‘inevitable’. A showdown with Anthony Joshua ‘will get done when it’s time’. A meeting with Oleksandr Usyk has already being called for by the Ukrainian.
‘I’m here to make nothing but great fights,’ Wilder says.
First, he must negotiate a way past Helenius, a former sparring partner. They will meet almost a year to the day since Wilder’s trilogy with Tyson Fury came to the boil. Over 11 extraordinary rounds, the heavyweights traded four knockdowns before Wilder fell one final time.
Wilder's much anticipated return to the ring will be watched closely by those prospective opponents
After that second straight loss, the former WBC champion flirted with retirement until the day he was cast into stone. A statue in Alabama changed everything. Now, Wilder says, he is happier than ever. Valuable lessons came from defeat.
From his four-year-old child — who taught him that ‘birds can p*** and poop at the same time!’
From meditation and from ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew used by Amazonian tribes.
‘I wouldn’t say it’s a new start. I’d just say I’m in a different mindset. I’m soaking in my peace and happiness,’ Wilder says.
Robert Helenius poses danger for the American and will be no walkover at the Barclays Centre
‘I’m in a great place in life. In spirit. And in heart, man. I can’t explain it,’ he smiles. Fans might struggle to square this tower of tranquillity with the snarling, spiteful heavyweight whose 42 wins include 41 knockouts.
‘People don’t know me,’ Wilder insists. ‘They see me in the ring and they judge me off that.’
He explains: ‘The saying for me is: to love him is to know him. I’m always at peace, I’m always happy. Because if you don’t have happiness or peace, you don’t have nothing.’
They form a valuable currency.
‘You can be the richest man in the world but if you ain’t happy and at peace, you’re miserable.’
Wilder has said he is a lot happier and returns to the ring next month in a much better mindset
Is that something he realised from his own fall? ‘Not at all. I definitely do meditation. I do ayahuasca. I guess a lot it stems from certain things like that,’ he says. ‘But also dealing with self… you have to be understanding and truthful with yourself. If not, you’ll become someone else that you really don’t like.
‘There’s no guidebook on how we should live life or what we should do. It’s all about what makes you happy and what will bring you peace.’
War and peace will collide when
