DEONTAY WILDER, unbeaten at 38-0, was due to face Luis Ortiz, unbeaten at 27-0, in New York on November 4. But hours before James Slater spoke to Wilder, it emerged that Ortiz failed a drug test. Read more HERE.
Wilder was confident he’d not only beat Ortiz, but that he’d win by KO inside just three-rounds. Then, as he has made clear a number of times, “The Bronze Bomber” wants a massive unification fight with Anthony Joshua.
Here is the exclusive interview with Deontay Wilder:
Q: What makes Ortiz so dangerous?
D.W: “His mental side. All the Cubans have great fundamentals and the boxing brain. I haven’t seen a Cuban fighter without that; he [Ortiz] knows how to throw combinations, he has been the fighter the other contenders have chosen to avoid. He is the Boogeyman of the division. I know he’ll be coming for me, but as I say, I can’t wait. I cannot wait! I will prove to the world that I am the best.”
Q: You have said you want your respect after the next fight. Do you need a KO win to get that respect?
D.W: “Well, you already know what I’m about, I’m The Bronze Bomber – I always come for the KO. But on the other side of things, no, I don’t have to knock everyone out; a win is a win and the win is all that matters to me. The thing is, no matter what happens, no matter what I do, people will always have an excuse. If I knock this guy out in a few seconds of the first-round, some people will still be unsatisfied; they’ll always say what they say and think what they think. But it don’t matter, I already know I’m the best.”
Q: Tell the UK fans why you will win on November 4.
D.W: “I will win, and I will never get beaten by anyone, ever. I will win because of three reasons: I’m tall, I’m awkward and I have a punch from hell! You can’t train for that. You can’t get sparring partners to get you ready for that; no sparring partners can ever emulate me, no matter where they [my opponents] look. I’m the world champion and it’s impossible for me to ever lose; it’s been preordained by God. You might have doubts now but one day, when I decide to retire, you will see I was right – I will never get beaten in any fight.”
Q: It’s no secret you want a unification fight with Anthony Joshua. Where should that fight take place?
D.W: “Since you guys [in the UK] are making Joshua out to be this big thing, we will fight of course. But I’m a ‘world’ champion; that means I’ll fight wherever – anywhere. It’s great that Joshua’s country is getting behind him in such a big way, I like that. But to become the big star he thinks he is – and Joshua may assume he’s a big star the world over – Joshua must make his name in America. The entire UK, where Joshua is such a star, is only the size of Texas, which is just one state in the U.S. If Joshua were to walk down the street in the U.S, people would not know who he is; they’d think he was a football player or something. He has to make his name in my country if he’s to become a real star. But that being said, I don’t care where I fight him, I’ll fight him anywhere.”
Q: How do you think Joshua does against Kubrat Pulev on October 28?
D.W: “I’ll always be on A.J’s side, whoever he fights right now. I want him all to myself! Even if Joshua was fighting Ortiz, I’d be on his side! But I tell you honestly, I don’t think they want the fight with me. Eddie Hearn, I don’t think he wants the fight for Joshua. They could have taken the fight time after time, but I honesty do think they’re scared. But time will tell. The fight is closing in and as long as we both take care of business, the people will demand the fight.”
Q: If you win your next fight and then you KO Joshua, what will be left for you to accomplish?
D.W: “Oh, there’ll be a lot left. There are lots of young guys coming up, even if you haven’t heard of them yet. I mean, we’ve always been here – me and Joshua and the other guys, we were here but unknown until we had our opportunities and we made the best of them, and we took over [the heavyweight division]. It took ten years before the heavyweight division got the big excitement back. There’s always a cycle in the division. But right now, there are too many fighters [at heavyweight] who have a zero on their record – way too many! That shouldn’t be. There can only be one best and after I prove to the world it’s me, what then will there be for me [to fight] as you say? But there are young guys coming up, who still have time on their side. [Joseph] Parker, he’s still got time. And one defeat doesn’t mean it’s over for a young fighter.
“But this is my time, I’ve fought my entire career the way I wanted; the way we wanted, my team and I. No matter what anyone said along the way, we’ve done it our way, the right way. I’m getting near [to my peak] but I’m going to get even better – and that’s a whole lot of scary!”
