Former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder takes some time to talk to TMZ about his intention to continue boxing after dealing with some personal issues outside of the ring, and expresses his interest in a potential fight with Francis Ngannou. Check out some of what Wilder had to say below.
Wilder on whether he’s still been training for a boxing return
“We still training. I broke my arm way back in November sometime and didn’t know. I had two tears in my shoulders and stuff like that…I just thought it was like old injuries and stuff so I never went and got it checked out, I just thought I could go to me therapist and get some things stretched, get some cold needling in and stuff like that. But come to find out my very last one, that’s when I got an MRI and it was like everything is fucked up and I didn’t know because I got a high tolerance in pain.”
On people who think he’s a washed up fighter at this point
“For me, the best is yet to come. I always say that. We still going, we still here, it’s just getting things together, man. I’m handling a lot of things, I had a lot of outside distractions that I had to get rid of, a lot of burdens upon me. I took care of a lot of people, man, and it just became to a point where I just couldn’t do it no more. I got seven kids of my own, I can’t take care of everybody.
“Even the closest ones to me, I been betrayed. I been betrayed for so many people, it’s been a domino effect for the last five years. If anybody know about betrayal, it’s worse than a heartbreak.”
On his interest in a fight with Francis Ngannou
“Even since I been off and stuff like that, there’s been a lot of offers coming in, a lot of things, different countries and stuff like that…that’s a conversation that I’m still looking to get in there in the mix and talk about.”