Deontay Wilder is not one to hide behind his beliefs. The former WBC heavyweight champion speaks up whenever he has something to say on delicate matters.
On a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast, this was no different for “The Bronze Bomber.”
Wilder discussed everything from his trilogy with Tyson Fury to the unveiling of a statue of him in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Deontay Wilder speaks his mind
Outlining how the struggles of black people affect him, Wilder gave an insight into facing the history of his culture.
“Because I have a platform where I can speak, people will listen to what I say,” said Wilder. “Sometimes, if they love what I say, they’ll apply it to life.
“This position allows me to move further and speak about injustice. If your culture hasn’t experienced it, then you’ll never understand what we mean by that. You won’t have to understand what it feels like.
“If you can have strong opinions and can make people change their mindset on a certain subject, then you have meaning.
“Certain athletes won’t dare touch on certain subjects because they have a cloud over their head that can rain on their parade. But I don’t have that. I run my own parade.
“I dictated my career a long time ago. But I have more freedom with what I want to say and what I want to talk about. I love speaking out for our people.”
Finding peace
On finding peace later in his boxing career from a visit to Rythmia Life Advancement Center, the devout family man added: “I was seeking clarification of my life and clarification on if I was on the right path and the right journey.
“I thought this facility would give me some type of guidance. Although we may see things or hear things from people in our world, we can always change our course.
“Being there brought me a lot of happiness. I wanted to instill that happiness and find that happiness within myself.
“But I got everything I needed out of there. I got peace of mind because I learned where my journey leads.”
Concluding on his likeness standing proudly outside the Tuscaloosa Tourism Center, Wilder stated: “Certain things, you just don’t have words for.
“My vocabulary is not big enough to express the true feeling of how I felt. I was very emotional to be presented with that statue.
“It was amazing to see people from all over the world want to come and commune and celebrate that moment in time. Especially being in the heart of Dixie because they put a black warrior right by the Black Warrior River.
“That was an area where blacks were prohibited by whites unless driven to clean their houses. Up the street, they sold slaves.
“It’s crazy to think about all that. I would never have thought I’d receive a statue in a million years. But it was an unbelievable feeling, especially for the place it happened in.”
Wilder vs Ruiz
Wilder returns to action in 2023 when the former WBC champion with 42 knockouts faces Andy Ruiz Jr. in a WBC eliminator.
The winner will then battle the “Gypsy King” or Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed world championship.
Booking his place with a first round battering of Robert Helenius with another exceptional right hand at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Wilder is once again the most feared puncher in boxing.
His New York exploits put him on track to win the WBC heavyweight title again and the other three straps to go with it.
In their Pay Per View encounter, legacy is on the line for both Deontay Wilder and Mexican Andy Ruiz.
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