Deontay Wilder made his huge return to the boxing ring. His return lived up to the expectations of the fans. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round to end his two-fight losing streak.
Wilder bagged himself a massive payday with his recent victory. According to Sports Paedia, he is expected to walk away with $20 million for his knockout victory over Helenius. ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ is expected to come away with roughly $1 million. Deontay Wilder yet again showcased his punching prowess. Wilder spent the early minutes of the first round getting a feel for Robert Helenius’ range. He knocked Helenius out towards the end of the round with a short right hand. It was only the third punch landed by ‘The Bronze Bomber’.
Deontay Wilder apologizes to Robert Helenius
Wilder only apologized to Helenius after the bout, but he also issued a heartfelt and strong message to fans to serve as a reminder about showing respect to all prizefighter:
“I always have concern for all fighters,” Wilder said during the post-fight press conference. “I’m a big advocate for fighters because like I always say, we get done wrong. A sport is something you play. You don’t play this.
“We risk our lives for you guys’ entertainment and I speak that forever. When you have a relationship with a man, when you love a man, and you build a friendship with another man, although he’s thousands of miles away from where I am, when you see things like that, you want to come to their aid. I wanted to come to his aid but they wouldn’t let me and I understood because he needed space.”
For Wilder, a knockout win may serve him well. The other person, on the other hand, may be severely compromised, something outside observers never really give too much consideration to.
“But my heart goes out to him and I hope he’s doing OK and he can be able to go back to his family, because this is a tough business that we’re in. This is why I tell people, you’ve got to respect all fighters.
“People always go about worrying about records and all this, ‘He lost, he’s a bum,’ and all that. You get your bum ass in there then and let’s see who’s the bum, really. Because you don’t play this. You can’t play this. We demand respect at all times, every fighter that steps in the ring. I don’t care what the record is, I don’t care who they are or where they come from, it demands respect, because if not, then you see things like that happen. And then, ‘Oh, it’s a great knockout,’
“Yeah, it’s a great knockout, it’s devastating, making history and stuff like that, but how much is that man going to suffer? He may be alright right now, a little bit, but what about the next day? What about two weeks from now? What about a month from now? Maybe years from now.”
‘The Bronze Bomber’ also revealed that he is excited about the future of the heavyweight division. Following the huge win, Wilder will have his sights set on a world championship. There are a number of potential opponents for ‘The Bronze Bomber’, such as Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua.
