To date, the only world heavyweight boxing champion among American professionals is Deontay Wilder. This man has a unique record: in 37 battles he won 36 early victories. However, he has no defeats. It's hard to believe, but a few years ago, the athlete did not consider boxing as the goal of his life.
Brief curriculum vitae
Deontay Wilder was born on October 22, 1985 in the city of Tuscaloosa, located in the US state of Alabama. After graduating from high school in 2004, the young man wanted to become either an American football player or a basketball player. But in view of the fact that in 2005 he had a daughter, Neia, who had serious problems with the spine, he was forced to completely concentrate on a much more financially attractive sport - boxing.
Career at the amateur
Deontay Wilder began training in the boxing gym in the fall of 2005 and after a couple of years was able to reach a fairly high level. In 2007, he wins the prestigious Golden Gloves tournament. At the same time, on the way to the championship, he won against the world cadet champion Thomas Isaiah. Deontay also won the U.S. Amateur Championship.
In February 2008, the boxer arrived in Novosibirsk, where he became participants in the match meeting between the boxing teams of the United States and Russia. The performance was unsuccessful, because he lost to Eugene Romanov by technical knockout. But already at the next tournament, which was held between the national teams of the Russian Federation and the USA, Deontay Wilder was able to defeat the very experienced Rakhim Chakhkiev, who later became the Olympic champion in Beijing.
By the way, the American himself at the same Olympic Games became a bronze medalist, losing in the semifinal Clemento Russo with a score of 7: 1. After that, Wilder decided to switch to professionals.
Career in the pros
The boxer's professional debut came on November 15, 2008. That day, Wilder Deontay knocked out Ethan Cox in the second round. After that, the Bronze Bomber (American nickname) in eight battles in a row won by knockout in the first round.
In October 2010, Deontay first knocked down in a fight with his fellow countryman Harold Skoners. But in the end, Wilder sent the opponent four times on canvas and won by technical knockout.
First title
December 15, 2012 Wilder Deontay fought with the then undefeated Calvin Price. At stake was the continental America's WBC title. The first two three-minute periods were quite calm and measured. Both fighters conducted reconnaissance. However, in the third round, Deontay knocked out an opponent with the right cross.
Duel with Belarus
On August 9, 2013, Wilder Deontay, whose fights aroused great public interest, met in the square of the ring with former WBO World Champion Sergey Lyakhovich.
The start of the battle was very careful, the athletes boxed at a long distance. But in the middle of the round, the American hit with the right and forced the Belarusian to retreat to the ropes, followed by another blow, which sent Lyakhovich to the deepest knockout. Sergey lay on the floor of the ring for so long that the doctors even carried out a stretcher, which, fortunately, was not used in the end.
World champion belt fight
In January 2015, Wilder was boxing with Bermaine Steven, who at that time owned the WBC belt. The battle began with tough exchanges of punches, in which the American looked better. Several times the Canadian was close to knockdown, but still survived and did not fall. Ultimately, the fight lasted all the allotted 12 rounds, after which the judges unanimously gave the victory to Deontay. For the first time in his career, he was unable to knock out his opponent. In addition, almost the entire fight Wilder boxed with an injured right hand.
Duel with a compatriot
On July 16, 2016, the Deontay Wilder-Arreola battle took place. In this confrontation, the Bronze Bomber from the very beginning took possession of an undeniable advantage and already in the fourth round sent Chris to the knockdown. The second half of the fight showed that Areola missed more and more hits, and in the end, after round 8, Chris refused to continue the fight.
After this voluntary defense of the title, it became known that the champion was injured in the arm and, most likely, will not enter the ring before the end of the calendar year.