Deontay Wilder's WBC heavyweight title reign has been nothing but normal.
Wilder has experienced multiple title fights fall through at the last minute to incredible highlight reel knockouts and "Fight of the Year" candidates. But the latest piece of news that sent Wilder's career into a tailspin was the rematch against Tyson Fury falling through.
This opened the way for Wilder to fight mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale on May 18. On a recent media call, Wilder was asked by Fightful how hard was it for him to reset his mindset and preparation for someone other than Fury, the heavyweight champion said he's used to this kind of chaos and it's no trouble for him adjusting to a new kind of opponent.
"It wasn't hard for me. You've got to look at what I've been through. I keep talking about the past. You've got to see what I've been through with different guys disappointing me. Failing drug tests, making me lose out on a lot of money and stuff like that. So I understand the business of boxing and I know that if you have something in place one minute, the next minute it could be gone just like that," Wilder said. "Once you go through this cycle and you go through it over and over again, you try to get the understanding, a better understanding of fights and what's to come. Nothing is guaranteed until you're in that ring and that guy throws the first blow."
Despite the potential long wait for a rematch against Fury, Wilder said he's ready to finish what he started and knock him out. Wilder said no matter how many fights Fury has before the two face off again, Wilder will be ready for the rematch.
"So things like that have prepared me. I understand as a fighter why he made that decision. I hurt Tyson Fury very badly. I gave him a crushing. Like I said, the man had memory loss and that's not healthy. That's not healthy for you and as a man, as a man with a family, hey, if you need a warm-up, a tune-up to see if your marbles are back in place, go do that. Take as many more months as you need. We understand. He said he got three more fights and then be out of here. We all know why he's going to be out of here because one of those fights leads up to me. And I'm going to finish it. I'm going to finish the job," Wilder said.
The fight between Wilder and Breazeale will headline a Showtime-televised card from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on May 18. Fightful will have live coverage of the entire card. You can listen to Wilder talking to Fightful in the video at the top of the page.
