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Home » Erased Deontay Wilder KO foe says he was ‘out-of-shape’ and ‘fat’

Erased Deontay Wilder KO foe says he was ‘out-of-shape’ and ‘fat’

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The man who dropped Deontay Wilder ‘officially’ for the first time in his career has revealed he was not in shape for their battle.

Harold Sconiers, who battled Wilder in October 2010 at Fantasy Springs, says he was a late call-up for the contest.

Discussing the event in detail with SportBible, Sconiers outlined that he wasn’t in a full training camp when he got asked to take the fight.

Deontay Wilder fight

However, despite his fleshy exterior, Sconiers managed to put Wilder on the canvas, the first man to do so in the career of the “Bronze Bomber.”

To the misfortune of Sconiers, footage of his now infamous knockdown doesn’t exist, as World Boxing News attempted to find out previously.

Asking the venue at Fantasy Springs, they responded to WBN stating only Mexican TV filmed the show, and they only captured the main event.

Any footage the promoter Golden Boy had was never released.

What makes it even more mysterious is that fans who witnessed the fight say Wilder was actually knocked out [down for more than ten seconds] and saved by the referee.

Without the video evidence, sadly, we will never know for sure.

Out of shape

Describing how he felt about taking the fight, Sconiers said in the SportBible chat: “I got a call from my manager. I was used to getting this last-minute kind of call, and that’s what it was. I was a replacement.

“So, I got notified of the fight with maybe a week to go before the actual match. I was at home, and I was out of shape. I was fat.

“You can see on the weigh-in pictures my stomach is pretty soft. But I was in the gym a couple of days a week, two-three days a week. I have enough experience to handle myself and prevent myself from getting hurt.”

On being a veteran asked to face an up-and-coming potential contender, Sconiers added: “I got the call, and a guy says, ‘Hey, can you go to California in three days?

“How do you feel about fighting this kid Deontay Wilder? Have you heard of him?’ I said, ‘Oh, yeah, the guy from the Olympics. I know of him.'”

Sconiers manager then stated: “Yeah, you know, somebody fell out, and he needs a replacement. Can you show up, travel, and be ready to go? Y

“you leave in a few days. The fight’s a few days after that.'”

“I said, ‘Sure.’ That was basically the script I was playing by at the moment.”

Wilder – The Olympian

Asked how much he knew about Wilder, the Florida man responded: “I had seen a couple of his matches in the 2008 Olympics.

“I believe I watched a couple of his matches, recognized the name, and realized who he was. And I hadn’t heard or seen much about him except for those couple of fights in the Olympics.

“But I was aware of who he was going into the fight. So, he’s rising at that point, and I’m basically on the decline in my career.”

On being able to put Wilder down at that stage in his career, Sconiers admits he wasn’t running on a full tank then.

“I had, who knows, forty-something professional fights against heavy competition. For a while, I was kind of over boxing. I was burnt out.

“I think a lot of guys reach that point where, maybe, you stay in it a little too long. A lot of that passion I had early on that got me started had died out.

“So for years, I had settled into that journeyman path where a lot of my fights I’m being brought in as the opponent.

“I’m aware of that. I do my best to win, but at the same time, I’m the guy who would take the last-minute fight when someone gets hurt or just come in and the entire crowd’s against me.

“I’m fighting on this guy’s show. His promoter is putting it on. All of the fuel is basically behind my opponent. I would show up for fights like that.”

Deontay Wilder knockdown

Despite his condition, Sconiers held the honor of doing something nobody else could until Tyson Fury came along.

Wilder eventually got Sconiers out of there in four and embarked on a fantastic run to ten world title defenses. The fact Sconiers was able to do that will forever be his claim to fame in the sport.

Sconiers fought seven times after Wilder, losing six. His only win came against former world champion Jameel McCline.

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