Background and career
Deontay Leshun Wilder ( WYLE-dər; 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, 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 95.55%, the highest in heavyweight championship 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).
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 depression 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."
Wilder started boxing in October 2005, when he entered Skyy Boxing Gym in Northport, Alabama, and began training under Jay Deas. Wilder was 20 at that time. 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 Chakhiyev 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.
Defeated Abdelaziz Toulbini (Algeria) 10:4 Defeated Mohamed Arjaoui (Morocco) 10+:10 (tiebreaker criteria) Lost to Clemente Russo (Italy) 1:7
Lost to Krzysztof Zimnoch (Poland) 20–23 (10/24/2007)
Wilder made his professional debut at the age of 23 on November 15, 2008, at the Vanderbilt University Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee. He faced Ethan Cox (2–2–1), winning by second-round technical knockout (TKO) after knocking Cox down three times. Wilder fought seven times in 2009, winning all the fights in round one. By October 2012, Wilder racked up a 25-fight win streak, winning all by knockout and all within four rounds. Some notable stoppages included former WBA heavyweight title challenger Owen Beck (27–10, 20 KOs), former WBO light heavyweight title challenger DeAndrey Abron (15–6, 10 KOs) and former WBO heavyweight challenger Damon Reed (46–15, 32 KOs). 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.
