Via Charles Brun: Deontay Wilder says he doesn’t want to drive away unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night because he will be attending a bout against Robert Helenius at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
(Image credit: Henry DeLeon / TGB Promotion)
Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) said Usyk has said he wants to fight the winner of the fight with Helenius and he hopes he keeps his word about it.
Deontay says the last person to say he wanted to fight the winner of one of his matches was Joseph Parker, and he failed after scoring a devastating knockout.
It would be huge if Wilder can claim the title against Usyk in early 2023, which would delay his undisputed clash with WBC champion Tyson Fury.
That would certainly anger Fury and his team to no end, but you can’t blame Usyk for doing it. If Usyk fights Wilder 6’7″ first, it will prepare him for what he will deal with 6’9″ Fury. Fury’s teapot will boil if Usyk faces Deontay in early 2023 instead of him.
I mean, Fury is going up against washed-out journeyer Derek Chisora in December, so it’s only fair that Usyk is up against Deontay.
Usyk will have a chance to get another big payday instead of just the one before Fury. It’s a win-win for Usyk. He gets two big paydays and he can prepare for Fury fight at the same time.
“I will do what I have to do. I don’t want to make a big statement. I don’t want to scare him off,” Deontay Wilder says in media workout when it was announced that Oleksandr Usyk would 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 would be fun if he told the giants to put on a sock while he beat Wilder first.
“He said he wanted the winner of the war. The last person to say he wanted the winner of the fight was Joseph Parker, and after the fight, I brutally took it down, and he went the other way. So I’ll do what I have to, and hopefully, he is a man of his word, and we will see a great fight in the next one.
“There was a lot of time in the past. There are many things that we are trying to improve. When you all met me on Saturday night, I learned something new.
“It’s something we’re adding to the training regimen, something we’re going back to the fundamentals. Capable of movement, mobility, hostility and agility. Combine all of that together.
“I feel great, and I’m ready to go. We are never 100% when we get into the ring. No fighter is 100% unless they don’t train hard or scrim hard. Also, we always reduce the percentage.
“I feel good, and that’s all that matters. The energy will be in the arena that night, and I’m looking forward to the audience, looking forward to performing for the thousands of people that will be there, and that everyone will see.
“If that works for his body, God be with him,” Wilder said, noting that Helenius is a vegetarian. You need vegetables and minerals in your body.
“If it worked for him, it worked for him. Everyone’s body is different. I wish him many blessings until the night of the war, and after that, good night.
“This is the first time we’ve stepped into the ring where it’s really worth it. Other times, it’s a sharpening tool.
“On the night of the teamfight, it’s going to be exciting to finally get into the ring with him where it really matters. May the best man win,” Wilder aided.
