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Deontay Leshun Wilder ( ; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight champion since 2007, which was the longest period of time in boxing history without an American heavyweight champion.
Wilder had a late start to boxing, taking up the sport at 20 years of age. As an amateur boxing, he won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the 2008 Olympics. This led to his nickname of "the Bronze Bomber", which Wilder coined after Joe Louis, who was known by the nickname of "the Brown Bomber".
Wilder is known for his exceptional punching power, and has been described as one of the hardest punchers in boxing history. His knockout-to-win percentage stands at 97.72%, the highest in heavyweight history, with 20 of his knockouts (48%) in the first round. He is a three-time winner of the Premier Boxing Champions Knockout of the Year award (2016, 2017, 2019) and a winner of the Ring magazine Knockout of the Year award (2019).
By 2007, he upset the favorites to win both the National Golden Gloves and the U.S. championships at 201 lb (91 kg).
At the Golden Gloves, he defeated highly touted cadet world champion Isiah Thomas, a southpaw from Detroit, and David Thompson, of Brooklyn, in the finals. At the U.S. championship he defeated Quantis Graves and won the final 31–15 over southpaw James Zimmerman of San Jose, California.
At the Olympic trials, he beat Graves twice more and won the Olympic trials in only 21 bouts. Early in 2008 he scored a career-best win by edging out world championship silver medalist and future Olympic champion Rakhim Chakhkeiv in Russia. He qualified for the Olympics by beating Deivis Julio 6:5 Jorge Quinones from Ecuador on double countback and Brazilian Rafael Lima 6:5 at the qualifier.
In a Russia-USA dual match on February 29, 2008, in Novosibirsk, Wilder was knocked out by Evgenyi Romanov.
Wilder then competed at heavyweight in the 2008 Olympics, defeating Abdelaziz Touilbini of Algeria and Mohamed Arjaoui of Morocco before losing to Clemente Russo of Italy in the semi-final to earn a bronze medal.
Wilder had an approximate amateur record of 30–5.
Wilder won his first title in professional boxing when he knocked out 37-year-old Kelvin Price (13–0, 6 KOs) at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, on December 15, 2012. The fight was originally slated to take place in August 2012. Wilder fought patiently through the first two rounds and mostly measured Price. The fight ended when a right hand from Wilder caught Price on the jaw and sent him back into the ropes and down. He attempted to get to his feet, but struggled which led referee Ray Corona to wave an end to the bout. Wilder claimed the vacant WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title, which he went on to successfully defend twice.
On May 9, Frank Warren announced a card that would take place at the Wembley Arena in London on June 15, 2013, which would feature Wilder and British boxer Derek Chisora as the main event. Prior to the announcement, Golden Boy and Wilder's camp stated there was no deal in place. The fight fell through after Wilder was arrested in May following a domestic assault in Las Vegas, Nevada. Days later, Wilder signed Al Haymon as his new advisor. Wilder Brings in Al Haymon To Reach "The Next Level" - Boxing Scene, 16 May 2016
In June, Golden Boy announced Wilder would main event a triple header of a Showtime card at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, against former WBO heavyweight champion Siarhei Liakhovich (25–5, 16 KOs) on August 9, 2013, in a ten-round bout. Liakhovich would fight for the first time in nearly a year and half. Wilder knocked Liakhovich out in the first round. Wilder caught Liakhovich with a big right hand; while Liakhovich was backed against the ropes, he went down heavily and began twitching. The referee waved an end to the bout without beginning a count. Liakhovich was kept down for some time in the ring, before being helped to a stool. Days after the fight, Liakhovich filed a protest to change the outcome as 'no contest' citing that Wilder hit him with illegal punches. Liakhovich claimed he was punched behind the ear and neck area.
Two months later in October, Wilder knocked out Nicolai Firtha (21–10–1, 8 KOs) in four rounds to maintain his knockout streak. Prior to the stoppage, Firtha was dropped twice in the opening round. In February 2014 it was announced that Wilder would fight 33-year-old Malik Scott (36–1–1, 13 KOs) in an eliminator for the WBC heavyweight title. The fight took place on the undercard of Garcia-Mauricio Herrera at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Puerto Rico on March 15. When the fight was first announced, Wilder was #3 in the WBC ratings while Scott was #26. Wilder knocked out Scott at 1:36 of the first round. Wilder started off with slow jabs and the knockout blow appeared to be a straight right hand, which many believe did not connect clearly. There was an instant reaction from the crowd and on social media regarding how the fight ended. Scott was said to be unhappy about reports that he took a dive and congratulated Wilder. This set Wilder up as mandatory challenger for the WBC heavyweight title held by new champion Bermane Stiverne, who had defeated Chris Arreola for the title vacated by the retiring Vitali Klitschko.
In August 2014, Wilder fought journeyman and former Prizefighter finalist Jason Gavern (25–16–4, 11 KOs) in a 10-round bout. The fight took place at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, on the undercard of the IBF welterweight fight between Shawn Porter and Kell Brook fight. Gavern was knocked down in rounds three and four. His corner threw in the towel after round four giving Wilder another stoppage victory.
After the fight, newly crowned heavyweight champion Tyson Fury entered the ring going face-to-face in a heated verbal exchange with Wilder, calling him out. In the post fight press conference, Wilder rated his performance at 5/10. Wilder was not in a celebratory mood and said his concerns for Szpilka meant he was not in the mood for the confrontation with Fury. Wilder explained "We risk our lives in there for your entertainment. I want to knock my opponents out, but not hurt them. I want them to be able to go home to their family." Szpilka regained consciousness before leaving the ring on a stretcher, and recovered. The knockout was voted "Knockout of The Year" by Premier Boxing Champions.
However, a week before the fight on May 14, it was reported that Povetkin had tested positive for the banned substance meldonium. Promoter Andrei Ryabinsky added that Povetkin did take meldonium in 2015, but stopped before it was banned, and only "leftover traces of meldonium at a very low concentration (70 nanograms)" were found in a blood sample given by the 36-year-old last month. Hours after, Wilder and his team skipped their flight to Moscow; the WBC, having little choice what with the titleholder preparing to return home, postponed the fight. Jay Deas, Wilder's manager and trainer, said the fight is off as did promoter Lou DiBella. Andrey Ryabinskiy, promoter for Povetkin, claimed the fight would take place at a later date. Wilder claimed he is still interested in fighting and beating Povetkin in the future, as this was a fight he had trained hard for and was hoping to make a statement against an elite heavyweight. On February 14, 2017, Wilder won $7 million plus legal fees after taxes, in court, over the cancellation of the fight.
According to promoter Lou DiBella, Wilder spent most of the night at UAB Hospital. He would be back at the hospital soon, likely for two surgeries, one to repair each injury. This ruled him out for the remainder of 2016. "Deontay is definitely out for the remainder of the year, but we will know more in the next few days," DiBella said.
On December 21, 2016, according to Wilder's manager Jay Deas, there were advance talks for a fight to take place on February 25, 2017, at the Legacy Arena in Alabama against 29-year-old two-time Poland heavyweight champion and former world title challenger Andrzej Wawrzyk (33–1, 19 KOs). Wawrzyk was on a six-fight knockout streak, with a win in his most recent fight over veteran Albert Sosnowski, since his only loss to Alexander Povetkin, inside the distance in May 2013. Terms were agreed to a day later as the date and venue were confirmed on December 29. After announcing Wawrzyk as his opponent, Wilder received criticism from fellow boxers, boxing experts and fans for choosing "an easy fight", having yet another voluntary defense and not fighting a top-level heavyweight. On December 29, Wilder spoke about the criticism, not believing Wawrzyk should be written off, stating, "I don't believe 'You're going to suck because I don't know you', that's just the ignorance of your average boxing fan ... I wish fans would stop criticizing fighters because it takes a lot to get in the ring." Wilder used Manny Pacquiao as an example for when he was little known.
On January 25, 2017, it was reported that Wawrzyk had failed a drug test, ruling him out of the fight. With a month to go until the fight, Wilder was determined that he would find a replacement to fight him on short notice and not postpone the fight card. Luis Ortiz put himself forward for the fight only to be shot down due to him failing drug tests in the past. Tyson Fury also put himself forward. A day later it was reported that 35-year-old Gerald Washington (18–0–1, 12 KOs) was in the lead of landing the world title fight. It was announced on January 30, 2017, that Washington would face Wilder on February 25.
In front of a hometown crowd of 12,346, Wilder won by TKO in round five. Washington started off strong with power punches as Wilder moved around with jabs. Midway through the fifth, Wilder got Washington against the ropes and landed a combination of power shots, the last shot being a left to the head of Washington, dropping him backwards against the ropes. Washington recovered quickly on unsteady legs. The fight resumed, and Wilder unloaded heavy blows to Washington's head, eventually leading referee Michael Griffin to halt the fight at 1 minute and 45 seconds of the round. Wilder credited his patience in the post-fight interview, "I knew he was going to come in excited to fight for a world title. I just kept calm and found my rhythm. I knew he was going to tire out, and when he did, I took advantage. It was all about timing. I'm very smart in the ring when it comes to using different tactics." At the time of stoppage, one judge had the fight 39–37 for Wilder, whilst the remaining two judges had the fight 38–38 after four rounds. Washington earned $250,000 from the fight while Wilder earned $900,000. CompuBox Stats showed that Wilder landed 33 of 113 punches thrown (29%) and Washington connected with 30 of his 98 thrown (31%). The fight was televised on Fox in the U.S. and was watched by an average audience of 1.76 million viewers, peaking at 1.86 million. The bout was the most watched boxing match in the United States for 2017, until the Keith Thurman-Garcia unification fight drew 3.74 million on March 4.
Following the fight, there was an altercation between Wilder and Dominic Breazeale, who had knocked out Izu Ugonoh on the undercard. Breazeale claimed that Wilder and his entourage attacked him in front of his wife at the Westin Birmingham hotel. This came after Breazeale supposedly had a fracas with Wilder's younger brother, Marsellos, at ringside during Wilder's fight.
On October 4, the WBC withdrew its sanction on the Wilder vs. Ortiz fight and ordered Wilder to fight mandatory Stiverne (25–2–1, 21 KOs). The next day, Showtime announced the fight. At the press conference, Wilder claimed that he was happy to be getting Stiverne out of the way. Stiverne officially signed the contract on October 17, his managers Josh Dubin and James Prince confirmed. Stiverne weighed pounds on the scales, 13 pounds more than he weighed in the first fight and 34 pounds more than Wilder, who came in at pounds. It was revealed that Wilder would earn a purse of $1.4 million and Stiverne would take home $506,250 as mandatory. Before the bout, longtime sparring partner Alonzo Butler predicted Wilder would dispatch Stiverne in less than five rounds.
On fight night, in front of 10,924, Wilder retained his WBC title with a commanding first-round knockout. Wilder knocked Stiverne down three times before referee Arthur Mercante stopped the fight at 2:59 of the round. Wilder started the fight using his jab to keep Stiverne at distance. A right hand put Stiverne down for the first knockdown. As soon as the fight resumed, Wilder landed another right hand, putting Stiverne down a second time. The final knockdown saw Stiverne against the ropes, when Wilder connected with another right, followed by a left hook to the head. At this point, with Stiverne defenseless, the fight was stopped. In the post fight interview, Wilder said, "You have to give props to Stiverne for getting in the ring. It takes a lot of courage and it takes a lot of pride to step in the ring with someone like me. We do what we have to do in the ring and at least he stepped up. He was a clean fighter." When asked about a future fight with Anthony Joshua, he said, "I've been waiting on that fight for a long time now. I declare war upon you. Do you accept my challenge? I've been waiting for a long time. I know I'm the champion. I know I'm the best. Are you up for the test?" With the win, Wilder had now knocked out every opponent he had fought. CompuBox Stats showed that Stiverne threw only 2 jabs and 2 power shots, not landing any. Wilder landed 15 of his 39 punches thrown (38%). The fight drew an average of 824,000 viewers and peaked at 887,000 viewers on Showtime. This was slightly less than the first fight, which took place in January 2015.
Wilder overcame difficulties and knocked Ortiz out in round ten to retain his WBC title in front of a crowd of 14,069. Both boxers started the fight cautiously with Wilder throwing jabs; however, Ortiz seemed to do more in the opening four rounds, throwing combinations. Wilder took control in round five, knocking Ortiz down once. Wilder was hurt badly in round seven by a left hand from Ortiz. Wilder was then trapped on the ropes taking head and body shots from Ortiz. Referee David Fields kept a close eye on Wilder and appeared to be close to stopping the fight, but Wilder survived the round. Despite Ortiz not managing to drop Wilder in round seven, all three judges scored the round 10–8 for Ortiz. Wilder used rounds eight and nine to rest up and managed to avoid any punishment. Wilder hurt Ortiz with a right hand at the end of round nine. Wilder then unloaded on Ortiz, who at this point looked tired, in round ten in dropping him twice before the match was halted by David Fields. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:05 of round ten.
At the time of stoppage, all three judges had their scorecards 85–84 in favor of Wilder. After the fight, Wilder spoke about his win and praised Ortiz, King Kong' ain't got nothing on me. A true champion always finds a way to come back, and that's what I did tonight. Luis Ortiz is definitely a crafty guy. He put up a great fight. We knew we had to wear him down. I showed everyone I can take a punch. When Ortiz leaves tonight, he can hold his head high. He gave the fans a hell of a fight." Ortiz also gave his thoughts on the fight. Speaking through a translator, he said, "I feel fine. I did receive a right hand, but I'm OK. I was listening to the directions that my corner was giving me. In this sport, any punch can end a fight. It was a great fight and I performed well." According to CompuBox Stats, Wilder landed 98 of 346 punches thrown (28%) and Ortiz landed 87 of his 363 thrown (24%). For the fight, Wilder earned a career-high $2.1million and Ortiz received a $500,000 purse. The event was Barclays Center's second-biggest boxing crowd after Keith Thurman vs. Garcia, which was attended by 16,533 in March 2017. The fight averaged 1.1million viewers and peaked at 1.2million on Showtime. The last time Showtime registered over 1million viewers was in 2015 when Wilder defeated Stiverne for the WBC title.
On July 30, it was reported that there were ongoing negotiations for a fight to take place in either November or December 2018 between former unified heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury (27–0, 19 KOs) and Wilder. On July 31, Fury stated the fight against Wilder was 99% a done deal, with only a location and date to be confirmed. Fury also had to come through in his bout against Francesco Pianeta on August 18. Wilder was scheduled to be in Belfast to further promote the fight. Fury won the bout via a points decision. During the post-fight interviews, promoter Warren confirmed the Fury vs. Wilder fight was on. The fight would take place in either Las Vegas or New York in November 2018. The fight would be aired on PPV in the United States on Showtime and in the UK on BT Sports Box Office. Talking about how the fight came together, Fury said, "We have two men who will fight anyone. This man has been trying to make a fight with another chump. They called, I answered. I said: 'Send me the contract.' They sent it. I said 'yes'." Warren later told BBC Radio 5 live, "It's 50–50 purse, quick and smooth negotiations. He was the world heavyweight champion. He's undefeated. Wilder understand that. All of the terms are agreed."
By the end of August, contracts for the fight to take place had been signed. On September 22, both fighters confirmed they had signed the contract and the fight would take place on December 1, 2018. According to the California State Athletic Commission, Wilder would earn a guaranteed base purse of $4 million and Fury would take home a guaranteed purse of $3 million. Despite Frank Warren's original claim that the revenue would be split 50-50, it was revealed that Wilder could make $14 million (£10.94 million) and Fury would earn around $10.25 million (£8 million). Both boxers would see this increase to their base purses after receiving their percentages from pay-per-view revenue.
The weigh-in took place on November 30, outside the Los Angeles Convention Center. Fury stepped on the scale first and weighed in at pounds, his lightest since his comeback following his lay off. The weight was only 2 pounds less than he weighed in August 2018 against Francisco Pianeta; however, he looked slimmer and leaner. Wilder came in at pounds, his lowest since his debut in 2008 when he weighed pounds. For his last bout, Wilder weighed 214 pounds; however, it was said that Wilder suffered an illness during his training camp.
In front of a crowd of 17,698 at the Staples Center, Wilder and Fury fought a twelve-round split decision draw, meaning Wilder retained his WBC title. Mexican judge Alejandro Rochin scored the fight 115–111 for Wilder, Canadian judge Robert Tapper had it 114–112 for Fury and British judge Phil Edwards scored it a 113–113 draw. The crowd booed at the decision with many believing Fury did enough to dethrone Wilder. Fury, using his unorthodox stance, spent much of the fight using upper and lower-body movement to avoid Wilder's big shots and stay out of range.
There was not much action in round one as both boxers used the round to feel each other out. Wilder tried to trap Fury into the corner, but Fury made Wilder miss most of his big swings. In round four, Wilder bloodied Fury's nose with his stiff jabs, but was unable to follow up on the attacks. In round six, Fury switched to southpaw stance and had success backing Wilder against the ropes and at the same time stayed cautious of Wilder's power. In round seven, after trading jabs, which saw Fury come out on top, Fury landed a counter right hand, then quickly tied Wilder up before he could throw anything back. Round eight saw back and forth action with both trying to land. Wilder threw a lot of power shots which Fury mostly evaded. In round nine, Wilder dropped Fury with a short left hook followed by an overhand right. Fury beat referee Jack Reiss' count and survived the round. Having expended plenty of energy trying to finish Fury in round nine, Wilder looked fatigued in round ten. This came to as an advantage for Fury as he landed two right hands. Fury also took advantage in round eleven, landing shots and avoiding anything Wilder could throw. In round twelve, Wilder landed a right-left combination which put Fury down hard on his back. The crowd, commentary team and Wilder believed the fight was over. Reiss looked at Fury on the canvas and began giving him a count. To everyone's surprise, Fury beat the count. Reiss made Fury walk towards him and called for the action to continue. Wilder, fatigued again, was unable to land another power shot and Fury landed some right hands to finish the round and the fight on his feet. Both boxers embraced in a hug after the final bell sounded.
According to CompuBox statistics, Wilder landed 71 punches of 430 thrown (17%), and Fury landed 84 of his 327 thrown (26%). Wilder was much less accurate in this fight than he usually had been in previous fights. Fury out-landed Wilder in nine out of the twelve rounds. Both Wilder and Fury only landed double digits in four separate rounds.
After the fight, both men gave in-ring interviews. Wilder stated, "I think with the two knockdowns, I definitely won the fight. We poured our hearts out tonight. We're both warriors. I rushed my punches. I didn't sit still. I was too hesitant. I started overthrowing the right hand, and I just couldn't adjust. I was rushing my punches. That's something I usually don't do." Fury said, "We're on away soil. I got knocked down twice, but I still believe I won that fight. I'm being a total professional here. God bless America. The 'Gypsy King' has returned. That man is a fearsome puncher, and I was able to avoid that. The world knows I won the fight. I hope I did you all proud after nearly three years out of the ring. I showed good heart to get up. I came here tonight, and I fought my heart out."
Wilder and Fury both claimed to be the best heavyweights in the world and both called out unified world champion Anthony Joshua. Fury shouted, "Chicken! Chicken! Joshua, where are you?" Wilder then agreed to state the two best heavyweights got into the ring and fought.
The event was both a critical and a commercial success. The fight reportedly sold approximately 350,000 pay-per-view buys on Showtime in the United States, grossing around $30 million, making it the most lucrative heavyweight fight in the country since John Ruiz vs. Roy Jones Jr. in 2003. Showtime's delayed broadcast a week later drew an average 488,000 viewers and peaked at 590,000 viewers.
Prior to the fight, Wilder had again made controversial comments about wanting to kill an opponent in the ring, saying he was "trying to get a body on my record", and that "boxing is the only sport where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time." This was not the first time Wilder had alluded to killing an opponent, having made similar remarks previously in 2017 about Bermane Stiverne. However, despite the pre-fight animosity, the two men reconciled after the fight's conclusion, with Wilder saying "I've told him Breazeale I love him and I want to see him go home to his family".
His rematch with Ortiz had been the sixth time Wilder had fought a boxer who was ranked in the global heavyweight top ten by BoxRec within a year of the bout. The others were Malik Scott (KO 1), Bermane Stiverne (UD 12), Luis Ortiz in their first match (TKO 10), Tyson Fury (SD 12), and Dominic Breazeale (KO 1).
The win marked Wilder's tenth successful consecutive defense of his heavyweight title, matching Muhammad Ali's record of 10 consecutive defenses. Wilder was happy to accomplish the feat: "It feels amazing. Muhammad Ali is one of my idols". Wilder and Ali's feat is only bettered by Joe Louis, Larry Holmes, Wladimir Klitschko and Tommy Burns. Wilder failed to surpass Ali's total, as he went on to lose his next fight.
In the post-fight interview, Wilder's head trainer Jay Deas stated that he disagreed with his co-trainer's decision to stop the fight, saying "Mark Breland threw in the towel, I didn't think he should've. Deontay's the kind of guy that's a go out on his shield kind of guy and he will tell you straight up 'Don't throw the towel in'." At a cost of $79.99, the bout generated between 800,000 and 850,000 pay-per-view buys in the United States via traditional television providers, up from approximately 325,000 buys for the first fight. Bob Arum estimated that there were "well over" 300,000 buys via digital platforms (placing the estimated total closer to 1.2 million).
Wilder attributed his defeat to factors including his water "being spiked as if I took a Muscle relaxant", his ring-walk costume being "way too heavy for me... it weighed 40lb with the helmet and all the batteries", and that Fury had "scratched flesh out of my ears which caused them to bleed". Wilder's attempts at justifying his loss were widely criticized and labeled by many as "excuses", including by Tyson Fury himself, former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, and British heavyweight rivals Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. Despite the widespread criticism of Wilder's allegations, for which he provided no credible evidence to support, he did not back down; on October 31, 2020, he issued a series of statements on social media continuing to accuse Fury of cheating, as well as asking for a trilogy bout. In one tweet directed at Fury, Wilder stated, "I was offered more money to fight Anthony Joshua than I was getting to fight you Fury." Both Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn reacted by confirming the veracity of the statement, happy at its implication that it was Wilder who had previously avoided a proposed undisputed fight with Joshua, and not the other way around.
That same month, it was announced that Wilder had appointed his former rival turned friend Malik Scott as his new head trainer, calling Scott a "genius". Ahead of the pre-fight press conference on June 15, the venue was officially confirmed as T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout was postponed from the original date of July 24 until October 9 after Fury's camp suffered an outbreak of COVID-19. At the pre-fight weigh-in on October 8, both men weighed in at their respective career-heaviest weights, with the champion Fury weighing in at 277 lbs, and the challenger Wilder at 238 lbs.
On the night of the fight, both men exchanged a total of five knockdowns as Fury won the bout via eleventh-round knockout. Wilder had started the first round well, jabbing the champion to the body and landing several clean right hands to his chest and stomach, doing enough to win the first round on all three judges' scorecards. In the second, Fury landed some good shots in the clinch. Midway through the third, Fury sent Wilder to the canvas with a series of hard right hands, and continued to pummel him as Wilder was effectively saved by the bell. Wilder came back in the fourth with a vicious short right hand that put Fury down on the canvas. Wilder continued coming forwards, and sent the champion down again towards the end of the round. In the middle rounds, Fury recovered and started landing with more regularity, racking up a commanding lead on the cards and marking up Wilder's face badly, with the latter now visibly exhausted as a result of all of the punishment he had taken. In the tenth, Wilder was decked by a huge right hook, but came back yet again with a huge series of wild swings that caught Fury at the bell. With Wilder badly hurt and bleeding, Fury managed to finish his opponent in the eleventh round with a clean right hook thrown from the clinch. Referee Robert Mora waved the contest off with Wilder face-down on the canvas. After the fight, Fury praised his opponent, calling Wilder a "top fighter", but criticized him for being a "sore loser" and refusing to "show any sportsmanship or respect". Before being taken to hospital for precautionary post-fight checks, Wilder provided his assessment of the fight: "I did my best, but it wasn't good enough tonight. I'm not sure what happened."
At the time of the stoppage, Wilder was behind on all three judges' scorecards with 95–91, 94–92, and 95–92. According to CompuBox, Fury landed 150 of 385 punches (39%), while Wilder connected with 72 of 355 punches (20%). The 150 punches landed on Wilder is the most ever landed by an opponent. Despite the back and forth nature of the bout, CompuBox calculated Fury as having outlanded Wilder in every single round of the fight, including the fourth round in which Fury was knocked down twice. The fight was widely acclaimed by observers and pundits for its action and high-level intensity: hall-of-fame promoter Bob Arum said, "I've been in this business 57 years promoting fights and I have to say I've truly never seen a heavyweight fight as magnificent as this", while the Ring magazine described it as "the obvious fight of the year so far" and "a rare and historic heavyweight championship trilogy".
Six days after the conclusion of the fight, on October 15, Wilder released a statement on social media paying tribute to God, his team, his fans and Fury: "I would like to first and foremost thank God for allowing me to give the world another part of me that's driven with passion and determination. I would like to thank my team and my fans for sticking by my side through this long process... Last but not least I would like to congratulate Tyson Fury for his victory and thank you for the great historical memories that will last forever."
With all the talk of the possible fight with Joshua, Wilder felt many were overlooking Parker as his opponent. Wilder felt he was taking the bigger risk of the two by fighting Parker. Eddie Hearn had already stated that Joshua would fight Wilder next rather than Filip Hrgović, who was also linked. Wilder felt there was more pressure on him than Joshua, as he had not been active for over 12 months heading into the fight. Also, the fact that Joshua-Wilder was a huge fight the boxing world had been looking forward to for at least seven years. When asked how the fight would go, Wilder said although he would not look for the knockout, he still expected to win within four rounds. During a face-off segment, both boxers discussed Wilder's inactivity. Wilder brushed off any concerns about ring rust. Heading into the fight, DraftKings had Wilder as a 6–1 favourite. The weigh in took place the day before, with Parker weighing in at 245.1 pounds. This was 5 pounds lighter than his previous fight. Wilder weighed 213 pounds.
On that night, Parker put on a career-best performance, out-boxing Wilder and winning the fight via unanimous decision by judges' scores of 118–111, 118–110, and 120–108. Some felt it was an easy win for Parker, considering Wilder's tactics and low output. Parker fought smart, out-boxed and out-worked Wilder in all the rounds. He also managed to stay clear of Wilder's right hand and in return landed his own power punches to the body and head. As the rounds went on, Parker gained more control, applied pressure and used his jab to set up shots to the head. Parker was courageous as the rounds continued, catching Wilder with eye-catching shots and working him against the ropes. Despite the pre-fight talk, Wilder did show ring-rust. His shots were thrown with little accuracy and did not let his right hand go. The action heated up in round 7, when Parker had Wilder against ropes and landed a triple hook to the head. Parker then had Wilder hurt again in round 8 when he threw more heavy shots, whilst Wilder was against the ropes. Wilder had to force a hold to avoid further punishment. From that point, Wilder's legs became unstable. According to Compubox, Wilder landed 39 of his 204 punches thrown (19.1%) and Parker landed 89 of his 255 thrown (34.9%). Parker landed more than double the amount of power shots through the 12 rounds.
Parker beating Wilder, seemed to derail his future fight against Joshua. Parker said, "We trained very hard for this. Everyone had other plans, but this is God's plan. I was really fit. I stayed calm, relaxed, stayed focused. There's always things to work on but I got the win. Merry Christmas to us." Wilder said despite the loss, he was very happy. He was unsure why he was unable to let his hands go and said his timing was off. Parker admitted he did catch a few of Wilder's right hands, saying he did punch hard. Despite Wilder losing, Joshua stopped Wallin in their fight, and although the fight would not likely happen next, Joshua was hopeful the fight could still happen in the future, as the fans deserved it.
Despite speculation that retirement was imminent, Wilder declared on his Instagram page that he would not be retiring: "Sorry if I let anyone down. But we'll be back, that's the good thing about it. This is not the end, we'll be back."
Wilder comes from a family of Alabama preachers, namely his father and grandmother. He has three sisters and one younger brother. His brother, Marsellos Wilder, is also a professional boxer; Marsellos last fought in 2022 in the cruiserweight division and has a 5–3 record. As a youngster, Wilder attended church every week. He has referred to his belief in Christianity, saying that "God is very important in my life."
Wilder graduated from Tuscaloosa Central High School in 2004 and dreamed of playing football (wide receiver) or basketball (forward) for his hometown Alabama Crimson Tide, but the birth of his oldest daughter and poor grades caused him to attend nearby Shelton State Community College and to focus on a boxing career. Wilder later revealed that during this time, he struggled with Mood disorder and had briefly contemplated suicide via gunshot. When reflecting on the incident, he stated "You don't think about what effect it would cause for your family, your daughter, your kids and so forth and so on... In that state of mind, you just become selfish. You think of the inner pain and the outer pain that you're feeling right at that very moment in time."
On May 4, 2013, Las Vegas police were called at around 7:30 a.m. for a reported battery at a hotel in the 3700 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard, where Wilder and a woman were taken into custody. He was held at Clark County Detention Center on charges of domestic battery by Strangling, and was released on a $15,000 bond. According to the police, "the woman had swollen eyebrows, a possibly broken nose, a cut lip, and red marks on her neck". She was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada and treated for her injuries. Wilder's attorney Paul Patterson claimed Wilder had "instinctively acted under the false impression that someone was stealing from him", and that he "regrets his actions". He had apparently been in Las Vegas to watch the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Robert Guerrero fight.
In May 2022, Wilder was honored with a statue in his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The statue is made out of bronze in homage to Wilder's fight nickname, "The Bronze Bomber".
In January 2024, Wilder was a contestant in season 2 of the American television series The Traitors. After falsely accusing Maksim Chmerkovskiy (a "Faithful") of being a "Traitor", who was subsequently voted out, Wilder broke down in tears and decided to leave the show after episode 3.
| 49 | Win | Tyrrell Anthony Herndon | TKO | 7 (10), | Jun 27, 2025 | |||
| 48 | Loss | 43–4–1 | Zhilei Zhang | TKO | 5 (12), | Jun 1, 2024 | ||
| 47 | Loss | 43–3–1 | Joseph Parker | UD | 12 | Dec 23, 2023 | ||
| 46 | Win | 43–2–1 | Robert Helenius | KO | 1 (12), | Oct 15, 2022 | ||
| 45 | Loss | 42–2–1 | Tyson Fury | KO | 11 (12), | Oct 9, 2021 | ||
| 44 | Loss | 42–1–1 | Tyson Fury | TKO | 7 (12), | Feb 22, 2020 | ||
| 43 | Win | 42–0–1 | Luis Ortiz | KO | 7 (12), | Nov 23, 2019 | ||
| 42 | Win | 41–0–1 | Dominic Breazeale | KO | 1 (12), | May 18, 2019 | ||
| 41 | Draw | 40–0–1 | Tyson Fury | 12 | Dec 1, 2018 | |||
| 40 | Win | 40–0 | Luis Ortiz | TKO | 10 (12), | Mar 3, 2018 | ||
| 39 | Win | 39–0 | Bermane Stiverne | KO | 1 (12), | Nov 4, 2017 | ||
| 38 | Win | 38–0 | Gerald Washington | TKO | 5 (12), | Feb 25, 2017 | ||
| 37 | Win | 37–0 | Chris Arreola | RTD | 8 (12), | Jul 16, 2016 | ||
| 36 | Win | 36–0 | Artur Szpilka | KO | 9 (12), | Jan 16, 2016 | ||
| 35 | Win | 35–0 | Johann Duhaupas | TKO | 11 (12), | Sep 26, 2015 | ||
| 34 | Win | 34–0 | Éric Molina | KO | 9 (12), | Jun 13, 2015 | ||
| 33 | Win | 33–0 | Bermane Stiverne | 12 | Jan 17, 2015 | |||
| 32 | Win | 32–0 | Jason Gavern | RTD | 4 (10), | Aug 16, 2014 | ||
| 31 | Win | 31–0 | Malik Scott | KO | 1 (12), | Mar 15, 2014 | ||
| 30 | Win | 30–0 | Nicolai Firtha | KO | 4 (10), | Oct 26, 2013 | ||
| 29 | Win | 29–0 | Siarhei Liakhovich | KO | 1 (10), | Aug 9, 2013 | ||
| 28 | Win | 28–0 | Audley Harrison | TKO | 1 (12), | Apr 27, 2013 | ||
| 27 | Win | 27–0 | Matthew Greer | TKO | 2 (8), | Jan 19, 2013 | ||
| 26 | Win | 26–0 | Kelvin Price | KO | 3 (10), | Dec 15, 2012 | ||
| 25 | Win | 25–0 | Damon McCreary | KO | 2 (10), | Sep 8, 2012 | ||
| 24 | Win | 24–0 | Kertson Manswell | TKO | 1 (10), | Aug 4, 2012 | ||
| 23 | Win | 23–0 | Owen Beck | RTD | 3 (8), | Jun 23, 2012 | ||
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Jesse Oltmanns | TKO | 1 (8), | May 26, 2012 | ||
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Marlon Hayes | TKO | 4 (8), | Feb 25, 2012 | ||
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | David Long | KO | 1 (8), | Nov 26, 2011 | ||
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Daniel Cota | KO | 3 (8), | Nov 5, 2011 | ||
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Dominique Alexander | TKO | 2 (6), | Aug 27, 2011 | ||
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Damon Reed | KO | 2 (6), | Jun 18, 2011 | ||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Reggie Pena | TKO | 1 (6), | May 6, 2011 | ||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | DeAndrey Abron | TKO | 2 (6), | Feb 19, 2011 | ||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Danny Sheehan | KO | 1 (6), | Dec 2, 2010 | ||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Harold Sconiers | TKO | 4 (6), | Oct 15, 2010 | ||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Shannon Caudle | KO | 1 (6), | Sep 25, 2010 | ||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Dustin Nichols | TKO | 1 (6), | Jul 3, 2010 | ||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Alvaro Morales | TKO | 3 (6), | Apr 30, 2010 | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Ty Cobb | KO | 1 (6), | Apr 2, 2010 | ||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Jerry Vaughn | KO | 1 (6), | Nov 28, 2009 | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Travis Allen | TKO | 1 (4), | Aug 14, 2009 | ||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Kelsey Arnold | KO | 1 (4), | Jun 26, 2009 | ||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Charles Brown | KO | 1 (6), | May 23, 2009 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Joseph Rabotte | 1 (4), | Apr 24, 2009 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Richard Greene Jr. | 1 (4), | Mar 14, 2009 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Shannon Gray | TKO | 1 (4), | Mar 6, 2009 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Ethan Cox | 2 (4), | Nov 15, 2008 |
| + ! No. !! Date !! Fight !! Country !! Network !! Buys ! class="unsortable" | Source(s) | |||||
| 1 | Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury | Showtime | 325,000 | |||
| BT Sport Box Office | 420,000 | |||||
| 2 | Deontay Wilder vs. Luis Ortiz II | Fox Sports | 225,000 | |||
| 3 | Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II | ESPN/Fox Sports | 1,200,000 | |||
| BT Sport Box Office | 800,000 | |||||
| 4 | Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III | ESPN/Fox Sports | 600,000 | |||
| BT Sport Box Office | 300,000 | |||||
| 5 | Deontay Wilder vs. Robert Helenius | Fox Sports | 75,000 | |||
| 6 | Derek Chisora vs. Deontay Wilder | DAZN | ||||
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