American former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is due for a comeback this evening when he faces countryman Tyrell Anthony Herndon, and as always, Wilder has been quite vocal in his latest pre-fight interview. Now doing a complete 180-turn from what he had stated prior to facing Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, Wilder has now admitted to never having been ready to fight either of the two.
Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KO’s) was defeated by New Zealand heavyweight (200+ lbs) WBO interim champion Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KO’s) and Chinese contender Zhilei Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KO’s) in 2023 and 2024 respectively, with both fights coming across as disappointing given the misrepresentation of Wilder’s motivations and mental state prior to facing them.
In interviews prior to facing Joseph Parker, Wilder was notably overlooking Parker as an opponent as his focus revolved mostly on a potential fight with Anthony Joshua. Controversially, Wilder would also claim enlightenment and having a renewed spirit through the use of psychedelic drugs; only for coach Malik Scott to proclaim his loss against Parker was actually due to the purported use of psychedelics.
Prior to facing Zhang on the June 1st Queensberry vs. Matchroom card, Deontay Wilder had made comments proclaiming to having lost his passion for the sport but reasserted that he was going into his match with Zhang fully committed.
In his latest interview, Wilder again admitted to being woefully unprepared and unready to face Parker or Zhang.
“I mean, I thought about retirement many times, but with the Zhang and the Parker fight, it actually helped me in a lot of ways to analyze what the hell was going on with me,” Wilder told BoxingScene.
“I wasn’t the same person. It wasn’t the same Deontay at all. There was a lot of shit going on with me at the time, inside and outside of the ring. I had to go get a sports psychologist. That’s how bad it got.”
Wilder’s mention of needing a sports psychologist could be interpreted as hypocrisy, given the American heavyweight spotlighted Anthony Joshua’s mental fragilities:
“With Anthony [Joshua], I’ve always felt he had a weak mindset,” Deontay Wilder told 78SPORTSTV in an interview conducted roughly two years ago.
“I’ve always felt he wasn’t too confident with himself. He needs those affirmation of words to tell himself certain things ― to get him that start of the engine. I’ve been saying that for a long time and it’s just continuing to seem that way.“
Ironically, despite Wilder’s assertions of the need for affirmations portraying a weak mindset, affirmations are an integral part of sports psychology and has likely been incorporated in the fighter’s own sports psychology program. In general, the role of a sports psychologist is to remedy an athlete’s mind and prepare them for the competitive challenges that lay ahead for them.
Currently, the ‘Bronze Bomber’ is set for a June 27th bout against unnoted fellow American Tyrrell Anthony Herndon (24-5, 15 KO’s) whose resume consists of a slew of inexperienced opponents and fighters with losing records.
Headlining on a BLK Prime card at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas, Wilder’s choice of opponent is regarded as a tune-up that will help build him towards fighting more regular fighters.
Notably, Malik Scott is reportedly no longer in Wilder’s corner as his head trainer, with the two having split ways. The two held a close friendship that started after they faced each other in the ring in 2014, with Scott eventually taking up the duties of head coach prior to the third fight between Wilder and Tyson Fury in 2021.
Former amateur boxer Don House is now Wilder’s head trainer, with longtime coach Jay Deas still serving as an assistant following the latest changes in the fighter’s training staff.
