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Home » Wilder: I thought I’d killed Szpilka, Washington not ready to fight me!

Wilder: I thought I’d killed Szpilka, Washington not ready to fight me!

The 31 year-old facing the late replacement on February 25 in his home state of Alabama, having halted all four of the previous challengers to his coveted green and gold belt.

In his greatest career stoppage to date, Wilder blasted out Artur Szplika in January 2016, a KO that was named WBN Knockout of the Year, and a punch that ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was scared had done some serious damage.

“There are a lot of heavyweights who say they want me, but at the end of the day, do they really want this? Everybody knows that Deontay Wilder comes with power,” said the title holder.

“I fight for the people, that’s what I’m all about. I like to give the fans a great fight at a reasonable price. Each fight I’m in I’m always exciting and well-prepared. I come to give people what they want to see when they see a heavyweight, and that’s a knockout.

“Gerald Washington is a big guy I’ve seen fight a few times. I don’t think he’s ready to fight me, but he thinks he is. We’ll find out on February 25. I chose him because he’s always been respectful while always wanting the opportunity. He’s going to come ready to fight.

“My preparation stays the same, even with the opponent change. I’ve been in situations where I’ve had to change a lot after an opponent dropped out, but Gerald being as good as he is and similar to Wawrzyk makes it easier. They have different styles but we’ll work on how to break him down.

“When I knocked out Artur Szpilka, I thought he was dead for a few seconds. That’s just from natural, Alabama country power.

“I definitely feel 100 percent, but we’ll see what it’s going to feel like in the ring when I apply this force to a human skull,” he added.