WHILE Deontay Wilder is widely expected to defeat Chris Arreola on July 16, the WBC heavyweight champion maintains he has to remain wary of his new challenger.
“Look at my fight with Eric Molina, or my fight with Johann Duhaupas, they just degrade them, they call them bums and [say] ‘who are they?’” Wilder said. “It doesn’t matter, this is the fight business, you never know what can happen. I think it’s really going to be a great fight and it’s going to be a win for boxing and a win for the fans of boxing and it’s going to be a win for my state. I can’t wait.”
He continued, “Only a fighter will know how serious it is to get up in the ring and take some punches to the head, keep in mind your head is not meant to be hit in the first place, we’re the only people to get up in this ring and do it. So we do it because we love to do it. With that being said, when my life is on the line, I take this seriously. I’ve got family to support, I’ve got kids that really love their dad. That’s all the motivation I need.
“When you get two fighters that fight with their heart, that do it for the legacy and not really the money. The money is a part of it… It’s part of the business, it’s part of the game, the money’s part of it. But when you get two warriors that are fighting for their legacy, it makes for great boxing.”
