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“He Was Considered One of the Most Hated Men in America-” Deontay Wilder Compares Himself with Muhammad Ali

Published 07/09/2021, 12:30 PM EDT

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Deontay Wilder, arguably the hardest-puncher of this era, wants to go down in history like his idol Muhammad Ali. Fans knew the yesteryear pugilist for his outspoken nature. One of the all-time legends, Ali’s outer-ring stance, inspired Wilder to speak for himself and the people. Although Wilder is not involved in the causes that Ali was part of, he has still compared his situation with ‘The Greatest’.

Ahead of his trilogy fight against Tyson Fury, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ connected with 78SportsTV to talk about several things. One of them was his love and admiration towards the late Muhammad Ali.

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Speaking about Muhammad Ali, Deontay Wilder said, “With Ali, to take a stand not only inside the ring but outside the ring, he was considered one of the most hated men in America.” 

“Then you got Deontay Wilder come along to take that same stand outside and inside the ring, it seem like it ain’t enough, it seem like they have these buck-dancers that dance in our kind to go against us and try it down. But you can’t buck-break me, man, I’m chosen. Ali is one of my idols in boxing, I appreciate to be compared to him, and I can see the comparison of what he stood for.” (H/T:- Boxing Scene)

VIDEO: Tyson Fury Receives Clean Body Shots from Josh Taylor Ahead of Wilder Trilogy

Meanwhile, Wilder’s aim of retribution against Tyson Fury has suffered a halt. Matchmakers have postponed the scheduled bout from July 24 because of a covid-outbreak in Fury’s camp. Hence, we are still months away from witnessing the WBC heavyweight title fight.

Can Deontay Wilder channelize his inner Muhammad Ali?

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Akin to Wilder, Ali also suffered big defeats in his career. Boasting off a 56-5 record, he suffered his first two professional defeats against Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. However, the Kentucky native avenged his defeats in the re-matches. While Deontay Wilder has suffered the first loss of his career against Tyson Fury, he will look to channel his inner Ali and level the score with ‘The Gypsy King’.

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Meanwhile, the trilogy bout looks likely to happen in October. Though nothing is official as of now, Wilder has earned some more days to hone his skills. Hence, he can expect to take his shot at the right time and work towards reclaiming the WBC world title. It wouldn’t be an undemanding task, but Deontay Wilder will clearly enjoy his opportunity of living up to his idol.

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Written by:

Raj Sarkar

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A senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports, Raj Sarkar is a mass media graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to his current role, he has worked with the MMA team at EssentiallySports and has interviewed prominent fighters such as Ritu Phogat and 'The Red King' Rory MacDonald. He combined his bachelor's degree with his adoration for combat sports and has a combined 2000 plus bylines in MMA and boxing over the last two years.
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