Deontay Wilder Profile

Deontay Wilder is an American heavyweight boxer who held the WBC title between 2015 to 2020 until Tyson Fury defeated him in their rematch in February 2020.

Prior to his loss to Fury, Wilder had the highest knockout percentage of any heavyweight world champion in the history of the sport at 95% after knocking out Luis Ortiz with a shocking one-punch finish. His dynamite power has been compared to Mike Tyson and George Foreman.

A late starter, Wilder took up the sport at the age of 20 and won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. Wilder defeated Bermane Stiverne in their first encounter to become the first American heavyweight champion in nearly nine years.

Wilder was expected to take on Fury for a third time but according to promoter Bob Arum, the American's rematch clause expired resulting in the collapse of a potential third instalment.

The "Bronze Bomber" is yet to announce as to who he will fight but will be keeping an eye on Fury's next move, with Anthony Joshua set to face Fury to determine heavyweight's undisputed champion.

After confirming the fight at Windsor Park in Belfast after Fury's victory over Francesco Pianeta, the pair collided at the Staples Center. Fury had fought just twice since returning the sport following his battle with mental health, which made Wilder a huge betting favourite.

The bout happened on December 1 and it lived up the hype but ended in controversial circumstances. The "Gypsy King" produced a stirring performance to outbox Wilder for much of the fight.

However, Wilder's concussive power could not be denied, and he dropped Fury in round nine and, memorably, in round 12 when Fury was flat out on his back.

The Manchester fighter miraculously managed to beat the count and even ended the round on top. Even despite the knockdowns, many felt Fury had done enough to get the verdict; such was the manner he controlled the early going and kept Wilder on the end of his jab for much of the contest.

It was not to be for Fury, however, with one judge going for him 114-112 while another somehow had Wilder 115-111 in front. The only British judge, Phil Edwards, scored the fight 113-113 meaning Wilder retained his green-and-gold belt and both men left LA unbeaten.

The rematch took place in 2020 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand. The bout would be distributed once again on pay-per-view with ESPN and Showtime the broadcasters.

Promoter Eddie Hearn believed Wilder's power would be too much for Fury this time as he predicted Wilder to win inside the distance. Other predictions saw Fury being backed to win on points. In a result which shook the boxing world, Fury used his 40+ pound weight advantage to manhandle Wilder throughout the fight.

He would drop Wilder to the canvas on three occasions before Rooney threw in the towel to save the American from a further beating. Having sustained a burst ear drum, Wilder blamed his defeat on a 40-pound costume he wore, admitting it had an impact on his legs.

Their fight is the most lucrative heavyweight PPV fight since Lennox Lewis defeated Tyson in 2002. Arum has claimed the pay-per-view did 1.2 million buys in America.

Wilder turned pro in November 2008 and after a series of early blowouts, it was not long before he was being talked about as a possible heavyweight world champion.

His moment came in January 2015 when he beat Stiverne for the WBC heavyweight crown. Most were expecting Wilder to win inside the distance but instead, Wilder boxed with authority behind his jab, keeping Stiverne at bay with a series of right hands as he scooted to a unanimous decision on the cards.

The win was significant with Wilder becoming the first fighter since Shannon "Cannon" Briggs in 2007 to win a major world title at heavyweight.

A few low-key defences followed before Wilder was matched with Polish fighter Artur Szpilka in New York. After a surprisingly competitive nine rounds, the "Bronze Bomber" produced a highlight reel KO by unleashing a right hand from hell to demolish Szpilka.

Aside from two fights with Fury, Wilder's most high-profile title defences have been against Ortiz. The pair first met in March 2018 and Wilder came through a Joshua-like crisis against Wladimir Klitschko in round seven when he got rocked by the wily Cuban.

However, a wild flurry in the tenth had him back in the ascendancy. Wilder would drop Ortiz three times in round 10 before the referee waved it off for a TKO victory. 

Their rematch in November 2019 was just as dramatic. The Alabama boxer failed to get going and was being comprehensively outboxed by Ortiz, a fact backed up by the judges' scorecards. Indeed, Wilder was behind on all three cards but once again he detonated Ortiz with another punch from the Gods to turn it around in Brooklyn, New York.

It was named as Ring Magazine's Knockout of the Year in 2019. In between those Ortiz victories, Wilder also flattened fellow American Dominic Breazeale in the opening round in another spectacular New York victory.

Wilder is known as a very diligent, dedicated champion whose weight rarely fluctuates. However, in his most recent fight against Fury, Wilder shocked the boxing fraternity by tipping the scales at 231-pounds - a career-heaviest for Fury.

In the first bout between the duo, Wilder came in at 212-pounds, 19-pounds lighter than their 2020 clash. Wilder has also weighed in at 229-pounds twice in his career against Damon McCreary in 2012 and Eric Molina in a WBC world title defence in 2015.

Wilder is handled by Shelly Finkel (the man who guided Tyson in the latter stages of his fabled career) and Al Haymon (Premier Boxing Champions), the unseen Godfather of modern pugilism.

Wilder has been trained throughout his amateur and pro career by unheralded Jay Deas, who works alongside Mark Breland. Wilder was previously promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya.

Wilder's home in the United States is Showtime and he has become a PPV star on the network. For both Fury fights, Showtime and ESPN combined for the event and shared the buys generated.

DAZN, spearheaded by John Skipper, attempted to sign Wilder in a three-fight $100million deal which included two fights against Joshua. However, Wilder turned down the offer after not being told how much "AJ" would make in the two fights.

In the UK, BT Sports Box Office had the rights for his bouts against Fury but prior to the rematch, Sky Sports secured the rights to his demolition of Breazeale.

Forbes had Wilder's net worth at $30.5million in the weeks leading up to his return fight with Ortiz. They also claimed he made more than $10million for his first fight against Fury.

Since his last fight against the "Gypsy King", Forbes claimed Wilder had earned $46.5million from the year and was the 20th highest paid athlete of the year having been paid $25million to face Fury.

Wilder married Jessica Scales in 2009. They had four children together - two daughters and two sons. Their eldest child, Naieya, has spina bifida, something Wilder admits forced him to become a boxer to help support her financially.

Wilder and Scales divorced in 2017 and the former is now engaged to Telli Swift, who was ringside for his fight against Fury.

Wilder originally wanted to play American Football during high school, with ambitions of him being a wide receiver in the NFL.

However, Wilder eventually opted to become a boxer in 2005 to look after his disabled daughter and despite just 21 amateur fights, Wilder made the US Olympic Team for the Beijing Olympics.

Wilder competed in the heavyweight division and scored wins over Abdelaziz Touibini and Mohamed Arjaoui, before losing to seasoned Italian Clemente Russo in the semi-final to earn a bronze medal.

This led to his "Bronze Bomber" moniker, which is a nod to his performance in Beijing and Joe Louis, one of the great heavyweight champions and a man known as "The Brown Bomber".