By Charles Brun: Deontay Wilder says he doesn’t want to scare off unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night because he’s going to be in attendance for his fight against Robert Helenius at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
(Photo credit: Henry DeLeon/TGB Promotions)
Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) says Usyk has said he wants to fight the winner of his fight with Helenius, and he’s hoping he keeps his word about that.
Deontay says the last guy that said he wanted to fight the winner of one of his matches was Joseph Parker, and he failed to do so after he scored a devastating knockout.
It would be huge if Wilder could get a title shot against Usyk in early 2023, which would delay his undisputed clash with WBC champion Tyson Fury.
That would anger Fury to no end and his team for sure, but you can’t blame Usyk for doing that. If Usyk fights the 6’7″ Wilder first, it will prepare him for what he’ll be dealing with against the 6’9″ Fury. Fury’s tea kettle is going to be boiling over if Usyk faces Deontay in early 2023 instead of him.
I mean, Fury is taking a tune-up against the washed journeyman Derek Chisora in December, so it’s only fair that Usyk takes a tune-up against Deontay.
Usyk would have the chance of getting another big payday instead of just one against Fury. It’s a win-win for Usyk. He gets two big paydays, and he can prepare for the Fury fight at the same time.
“I’m going to do what I got to do. I don’t want to make a big statement. I don’t want to scare him off,” said Deontay Wilder during the media workout when told that Oleksandr Usyk will be in the crowd on Saturday night.
Usyk will be under a lot of pressure from Team Fury to fight him in early 2023, and it’s going to be fun if he tells the big lump to put a sock in it while he gets the Wilder fight out of the way first.
“He says he wants the winner of the fight. The last guy that said he wanted the winner of the fight was Joseph Parker, and after the fight, I gave a devastating knockout, and he went the other way. So I’m going to do what I’ve got to do, and hopefully, he’s a man of his word, and we’ll see a great fight in the next fight.
“There’s been a lot of time past. There’s been a lot of things that we’re trying to perfect. When y’all see me on Saturday night, it’s nothing that I’ve learned new.
“It’s something that we’re adding to the regimen of training, something we’re going back to the basic fundamentals. Being able to move, mobile, hostile and agile. Combining all those things together.
“I feel great, and I’m ready to go. We’re never 100% when we get in the ring. No fighter is 100% unless they ain’t training hard or sparring hard. Other than that, we’re always down a percentage.
“I feel good, and that’s all that’s going to matter. The energy will be in the arena that night, and I’m looking forward to the crowd, looking forward to performing for the thousands that are going to be there, and that’s going to be watching.
“If that works for his body, then may God be with him,” said Wilder when told that Helenius is a vegetarian. You need vegetables and minerals in your body.
“If that works for him, that works for him. Everybody’s body is different. I wish many blessings upon him until the night of the fight, and then bam, good night.
“This is the first time that we’re getting in the ring where it really counts. Other times, it’s been tools sharpening tools.
“On the night of the fight, it’s going to be electrifying to finally step in the ring with him where it really counts. May the best man win,”s aid Wilder.
