Deontay Wilder was considering hanging up his gloves for good after suffering a devastating 11th-round KO defeat to Tyson Fury during their trilogy bout in October last year.
The American boxer said he needed some time away from the ring to process the back-to-back defeats in 2020 and 2021 as they were the only losses of his professional career.
He was expected to walk away from boxing for good but the Olympic bronze medalist changed his mind after witnessing the public’s reaction to the unveiling of a life-size statue made in his likeness in May 2021.
Wilder referred to himself as a ‘walking, living legend’ and insisted the ‘world really needed’ him to return to boxing as he ‘motivated’ people.
‘What really got me back to this point [was the realization], like, damn, the world really needs me,’ Wilder said. During the ceremony, Wilder told fans that he would be returning to the ring in the future as he has a ‘lot of thing to get out of the way’ before hanging up his gloves.
Wilder will return to the canvas on October 15 to face Robert Helenius. However, he has recently called out Fury, Antony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk after claiming he is still a ‘big fish’ in the division.
Credit: dailymail.co.uk
