30 Unknown Facts About Deontay Wilder That Every Fan Must Know

Deontay Wilder, known for his formidable punching power, is one of the most successful heavyweight champions in the history of WBC. With a sturdy figure and a well-built physique, he has managed to build an impressive career, despite getting into boxing only at the age of 20. Here are some interesting facts about the professional boxer that will blow your mind:

"WBC Champ Deontay Wilder" by LAFD is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

1.  Wilder is the first American world heavyweight champion, since 2004 and has held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, after ten successful defenses.
2.  As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the 2008 Olympics, which led to the coining of his nickname “The Bronze Bomber.”
3.  He is known to have knocked out every opponent he has played defeated. In fact, his knockout-to-win stands at 98 percentage, with 20 knockouts in the first round.
4.  His 75 percentage knockouts in the world heavyweight titles, is said to be the third highest in the history of heavyweight titles.
5.  He was honored with the Premier Boxing Champions Knockout of the Year award for three times in 2016, 2017 and 2019. He was also awarded the Ring magazine “Knockout of the Year” award in 2019.
6.  Deontay Leshun Wilder was born on October 22, 1985 to Gary Wilder and Deborah Wilder, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He has three sisters and one brother.
7.  His younger brother Marsellos Wilder, is also a professional boxer, who is currently fighting in the cruiserweight division with a 5-2 record.
8.  He often reminiscences his days with his grandmother, who thought him to be a god’s gift and was too assured that he will be great one day. His grandmother never allowed even his parents to spank him.
9.  He graduated from Tuscaloosa Central High School in the year 2004, with the dreams of attending the University of Alabama and playing as a wide receiver in football or as a forward in basketball.
10.  However, with the birth of his oldest daughter Naieya Wilder in 2005, and also his poor grades, he went to Shelton State Community College, and started focusing on a career in boxing.

"WBC Champ Deontay Wilder" by LAFD is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

11.  With this then-girlfriend Helen Duncan, he had to make the most important decision of his life, to either keep Naieya or not, as the child was born with spina bifida. It took more than 5 operations for the kid to even start walking.
12.  It was around the same time that Wilder suffered from severe depression and even contemplated suicide. Recalling the incident, he claims that the inner pain and outer pain will make that decision feel right, although it is not.
13.  Being just 20, he started training under Jay Deas, at the Skyy Boxing Gym in Northport, Alabama. Until then, he never even knew there was a boxing gym in the locality and had never considered it to be his career.
14.  Before this, he never liked fighting any one, and even once in his childhood, he had gone home crying after beating up a kid and prayed to God to help the kid.
15.  He made his professional debut at the age of 23 at the Vanderbilt University Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee, winning Ethan Cox by second-round technical knockout (TKO).
16.  By the end of 2012, after racking up an impressive 25-fight win streak, all by knockout, and won his first ever title in professional boxing by knocking out Kelvin Price (13-0, 6 Kos) at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles.
17.  On January 17, 2015, he became the first American heavyweight world champion since Hasim Rahman, by defecting Bermane Stiverne by a unanimous decision after twelve rounds.
18.  Following this victory, he announced that his first defense for the heavyweight title, will be held in his home state of Alabama, which will also be the first fight title held in the state.
19.  Alexander Povetkin was considered his toughest opponent, and Wilder had to defend his WBC heavyweight title against him, on May 21, 2016 at the Megasport Arena in Moscow, Russia.
20.  At that time Povetkin was on a four-fight knockout streak, leading to everyone worrying about Wilder’s defense. However, he was confident in defeating Povetkin, and claimed that the victory would make his legacy even bigger.

"WBC Champ Deontay Wilder" by LAFD is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

21.  Nut, just a week before the fight, Povetkin was tested positive for banned substance meldonium, and Wilder was given $7 million plus legal fees after taxes, in court, over the cancellation of the fight.
22.  During his fight with the former two-time world title challenger Chris Arreola, he broke his right hand and torn his biceps, following which he had to be ruled out for the remainder of 2016.
23.  He had spent most of the night of 2016 at UAB Hospital, and had two surgeries to repair each injury. By November 2016, Wilder was back in training, and his return fight was scheduled for early 2017.
24.  After his winning fight with Gerald Washington, he had an altercation with Dominic Breazeale, who claimed that Wilder had attacked him in front of his wife at the Westin Birmingham hotel.
25.  This came right after the reports that Breazeale had a fracas with Marsellos, Wilder’s younger brother, at the ringside during one of the Wilder’s fight.
26.  On May 18, 2019, he defended his WBC heavyweight title against Breazeale, knocking him out in the very first round, with a powerful right that sent Breazeale flat on his back.
27.  Wilder has a total of eight children from four women. He married Jessica Scales-Wilder in the year 2009 and has two sons – Deontay Wilder Jr. and Dereon Wilder and one daughter – Ava Wilder with her. The couple divorced in 2017.
28.  He is currently engaged to Telli Swift, and American TV personality, actress and model, famous for her TV show WAGS Atlanta. The duo have a daughter together named Kaorii Lee Wilder.
29.  Wilder fought Fury in front of a crowd of 17,698 at the Staples Center, in 2018, retaining his title, in the twelve-round split decision draw. However, the crowd booed at the decision as most of them felt that Fury performed enough to dethrone Wilder, who was much less accurate than his previous fights.
30.  A rematch was held on February 22, 2020, in which Wilder lost the fight via seventh-round TKO that resulted in him losing the WBC heavyweight title. A third fight was tentatively set for July 18, 2020, but was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
31.  Deontay Wilder Net Worth: $30 Million