BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Deontay Leshun Wilder (born October 22, 1985) is an American heavyweight boxer, best known for winning a bronze medal at the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Wilder is currently recognized as a challenger for the world heavyweight championship. He has won all of his bouts by knockout, and no opponent he has faced has lasted more than four rounds with him. Wilder is widely considered to be one of the hardest punchers of the modern era, and indeed in the current heavyweight boxing division. Wilder is ranked within the top ten rankings by all the major sanctioning bodies, and he currently holds the WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight title.
Wilder is currently trained by longtime coach Jay Deas and former welterweight champion/Olympic Gold Medalist Mark Breland, and is currently promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.[2]
Notable Wins
- Owen Beck - RTD 3 (June 2012)
- Audley Harrison - TKO 1 (April 2013)
- Siarhei Liakhovich - KO 1 (August 2013)
- Nicolai Firtha - KO 4 (October 2013)
- Malik Scott - KO 1 (March 2014)
Career
Wilder started boxing in October 2005 and in 2007 upset the favorites to win both the National Golden Gloves and the US championships at 201 lb (91 kg).
He graduated from Tuscaloosa Central High School in 2004 and dreamed of playing American football (wide receiver) or basketball (forward) for the hometown Alabama Crimson Tide, but the birth of his daughter Naieya (b. 2005), who suffers from a spinal condition, and grade issues forced him to attend nearby Shelton State Community College and to focus on a boxing career.[3]
At the Golden Gloves he defeated highly touted cadet world champion Isiah Thomas a southpaw of Detroit and David Thompson, of Brooklyn, N.Y in the finals. At the US championship he defeated Quantis Graves and won the final 31-15 over southpaw James Zimmerman of San Jose, Calif.
At the Olympic Trials he beat Graves two more times and won the Olympic Trials with only 21 bouts.
Early in 2008 he scored a career best win by edging out World Gold medalist and future Olympic champion Rakhim Chakhiyev in Russia in a Duals.
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.
Olympic results
- Defeated Abdelaziz Toulbini (Algeria) 10:4
- Defeated Mohamed Arjaoui (Morocco) 10+:10 (tiebreaker criteria)
- Lost to Clemente Russo 7:1
World amateur championships results
- Lost to Krzysztof Zimnoch (Poland) 20-23
Professional Career
| BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY |
Wilder made his professional debut on the undercard of Jeff Lacy vs. Jermain Taylor fight in November 15th 2008. He fought Ethan Cox and won by KO in the second round.
Between November 2008 to May 2012, Wilder quickly built up an impressive record of 22-0, all wins coming by KO inside four rounds. On June 23rd 2012, he stepped up in class and fought a former world heavyweight challenger Owen Beck. Beck retired on his stool after three rounds with the heavy-handed prospect. On December 15th 2012, Wilder won the WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title by knocking out Kelvin Price in three rounds.
On April 27th 2013, he fought former European heavyweight champion and former Olympic Gold Medalist Audley Harrison at the Motor Point Arena in Sheffield, England on the undercard of Amir Khan vs Julio Diaz. Wilder's power was too much for Harrison, and he was counted out at 110 seconds in round one.
Wilder had easily won all of his fights by knockout by the summer of 2013. So he was scheduled to face the tough veteran and former WBO world heavyweight champion Siarhei Liakhovich in order to get some rounds under his belt, as no other opponent had lasted more than four rounds with Wilder. Wilder landed a mighty right cross to the head of Liakhovich at 1.43 minutes of round one, which sent the former champion crashing to the canvas, who briefly started convulsing from the heavy blow. This marked Wilder is a genuine threat to the heavyweight division, as Liakhovich was expected to at least survive to the middle rounds, yet he was eliminated in frightening fashion.
Two months later in October 2013, Wilder fought the tough and cagey veteran Nikolai Firtha, under the undercard of Bernard Hopkins vs Karo Murat at the Boardwalk Hall, inAtlantic City, New Jersey. Firtha displayed heart and courage by bringing the fight to Wilder, and giving him his toughest fight to date. Wilder scored two minor knockdowns in the first round, but Firtha survived and fought on. In round four, Wilder's power prevailed and he flattened Firtha with a big over-hand right to the head. The referee halted the contest as he felt the bloodied Firtha had seen enough punishment, and therefore awarded the victory to Wilder.
On March 15, 2014, Wilder fought world ranked Malik Scott in Puerto Rico. After few exchanges within two minutes of the first round, Wilder opened up with a two-punch combo that sent Scott crashing into the ropes. The finishing blow of the combo was a straight right that breached Scott's high guard clipping him on the temple apon impact. He was counted out at 1.36 of round one. The fight with Scott was to set up an eliminator for a world title shot.
Personal life
Deontay has a six-year-old daughter named Naieya and a newborn daughter named Ava and a son named Dereon Wilder. He has been married since 2009 to Jessica Scales- Wilder.[5] On May 4, 2013 Wilder was arrested in Las Vegas for domestic battery by strangulation, which is a Class B or Class C felony.[6] Wilder's attorney said, "Deontay instinctively acted under the false impression that someone was stealing from him. That wasn't the case. He regrets his actions. He is extremely regretful because this is not consistent with his reputation. He and the victim have spoken about this and the victim has accepted his apology. We hope this matter will be brought to a resolution soon".[7]
Championships
- WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight title
Professional boxing record
| 31 Wins (31 knockouts), 0 Losses, 0 Draws[1] | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Win | 31–0 |  Malik Scott | KO | 1 (12), 1:36 | 2014-03-15 |  Coliseo Rubén RodrÃguez, Pueblo of Bayamón, Bayamón | |
| Win | 30–0 | Nicolai Firtha | KO | 4 (10), 1:26 | 2013-10-26 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey | Defended WBC Cont. HW title. |
| Win | 29–0 |  Siarhei Liakhovich | KO | 1 (10), 1:43 | 2013-08-09 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California | Defended WBC Cont. HW title. |
| Win | 28–0 |  Audley Harrison | TKO | 1 (12), 1:10 | 2013-04-27 | Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire and the Humber | |
| Win | 27–0 | Matthew Greer | KO | 2 (8), 1:44 | 2013-01-19 |  Centro de Convenciones, Villahermosa, Tabasco | |
| Win | 26–0 | Kelvin Price | KO | 3 (10), 0:51 | 2012-12-15 | Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California | Won vacant WBC Cont. HW title. |
| Win | 25–0 | Damon McCreary | KO | 2 (10), 0:55 | 2012-09-08 | The Hangar, Costa Mesa, California | McCreary down three times. |
| Win | 24–0 |  Kertson Manswell | TKO | 1 (10), 2:10 | 2012-08-04 | Mobile Civic Center–Expo Hall, Mobile, Alabama | Manswell down three times. |
| Win | 23–0 |  Owen Beck | TKO | 3 (8), 3:00 | 2012-06-23 | Killer Buzz Arena, Tuscaloosa, Alabama | |
| Win | 22–0 | Jesse Oltmanns | KO | 1 (8), 0:26 | 2012-05-26 | Oasis Hotel Complex, Cancún, Quintana Roo | Oltmanns down once. |
| Win | 21–0 | Marlon Hayes | TKO | 4 (8), 3:00 | 2012-02-25 | Scottrade Center, Saint Louis, Missouri | |
| Win | 20–0 | David Long | KO | 1 (8), 1:17 | 2011-11-26 | U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio | Long down once. |
| Win | 19–0 | Daniel Cota | KO | 3 (8), 2:55 | 2011-11-05 | Centro de Cancun, Cancún, Quintana Roo | |
| Win | 18–0 | Dominique Alexander | TKO | 2 (6), 2:02 | 2011-08-27 | Water Oaks Farm Arena, Tuscaloosa, Alabama | |
| Win | 17–0 | Damon Reed | KO | 2 (8), 1:59 | 2011-06-18 | Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, Tuscaloosa, Alabama | |
| Win | 16–0 | Reggie Pena | TKO | 1 (6), 2:03 | 2011-05-06 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California | |
| Win | 15–0 | DeAndrey Abron | TKO | 2 (6), 1:23 | 2011-02-19 | Shelton State Community College, Tuscaloosa, Alabama | |
| Win | 14–0 | Danny Sheehan | KO | 1 (6), 1:48 | 2010-12-02 | Hilton Towers Ballroom, Lafayette, Louisiana | |
| Win | 13–0 | Harold Sconiers | TKO | 4 (6), 1:09 | 2010-10-15 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California | Sconiers down four times. Wilder down once. |
| Win | 12–0 | Shannon Caudle | KO | 1 (6), 1:04 | 2010-09-25 | Fitzgerald's Casino & Hotel, Tunica, Mississippi | |
| Win | 11–0 | Dustin Nichols | RTD | 1 (6), 3:00 | 2010-07-03 | Club Palace, Hattiesburg, Mississippi | |
| Win | 10–0 | Alvaro Morales | TKO | 3 (6), 1:23 | 2010-04-30 | Tropicana Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 9–0 | Ty Cobb | KO | 1 (6), 0:33 | 2010-04-02 | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 8–0 | Jerry Vaughn | KO | 1 (6), 1:02 | 2009-11-28 | Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, Ohio | |
| Win | 7–0 | Travis Allen | TKO | 1 (4), 1:30 | 2009-08-14 | Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona | |
| Win | 6–0 | Kelsey Arnold | KO | 1 (4), 1:13 | 2009-06-26 | Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona | |
| Win | 5–0 | Charles Brown | KO | 1 (6), 0:55 | 2009-05-23 | Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, Ohio | |
| Win | 4–0 | Joseph Rabotte | KO | 1 (4), 2:33 | 2009-04-24 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois | |
| Win | 3–0 | Richard Greene Jr | RTD | 1 (4), 3:00 | 2009-03-14 | Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, Ohio | |
| Win | 2–0 | Shannon Gray | TKO | 1 (4), 2:12 | 2009-03-06 | Trotter Convention Center, Columbus, Mississippi | |
| Win | 1–0 | Ethan Cox | TKO | 2 (4), 2:54 | 2008-11-15 | Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tennessee | Professional debut. |
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