People become mellow over time. Even those who beat people up for a living.
When he first stomped onto the scene, Deontay Wilder was a ruthless dictator, one that took no prisoners. After decapitating his competition, the Alabama star was eventually crowned as the heavyweight division’s WBC champion.
There was a long line of challengers waiting on him, but Wilder knocked them off one by one. As they continued to fall at his feet, the recognition of being one of the hardest-hitting fighters in history, and one of the best fighters around, came effortlessly. However, while his praises were being sung constantly, Wilder may have allowed those kind words to bring his guard down.
At the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia this past weekend, Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) talked a good game. Although he promised to send Joseph Parker to the moon, he continued to smile in his opponent’s face, stopped and posed for pictures, and was happy-go-lucky at all times.
Once the bright lights turned on and he was asked to perform, he simply couldn’t get it going. His pernicious right hand remained pinned to his side and the consistency of his jab was sorely lacking.
Wilder’s hesitancy led to a lopsided loss, despite being viewed as a gigantic favorite. Now, Wilder has some soul-searching to do. The buoyant attitude and pleasant demeanor have to come to an end. From the former champ’s point of view, he’s become entirely too kind nowadays. If he wants to get back to having cataclysmic results, Wilder believes he needs to get rid of his new perky persona.
“I’ve got to find my killer instinct back,” Wilder told 78 Sports TV during a recent interview. “I’m too at peace, I’m too happy. When I had that dog in me, nobody had a chance.”