Deontay Wilder "Ask Me Anything" - Fans' Q&A

[gavpowell]

This went under the radar - the WBC champion is doing one of reddit's famous AMAs, in which they take questions from reddit users until such time as they get bored - sometimes they go on for hours.

 

Questions and Answers are below.

[Ton]

Re: Deontay Wilder "Ask Me Anything" - Starting in 10 Mins

 

Anyone fancy picking through it and copying and pasting the good parts? :haha:

 

I volunteer CableAddict to do it - Deontays biggest fan isn't he? :thumb:

[The_budweiser]

Re: Deontay Wilder "Ask Me Anything" - Starting in 10 Mins

 

How seriously did you consider going ahead with the Povetkin fight anyway after he tested positive for meldonium?

 

I was 100% still on board with that, but I was told not to do it because of the example it would have shown if I had fought. What would be the reason to have any kind of doping agency test guys? For that reason, I couldn't fight but I was 100% still ready.

 

What is the most significant boxing event you've seen in your lifetime?

 

I'd say the Floyd and Maidana fight was a great one. And the fight that just happened with Thurman and Porter.

 

What aspects of Povetkin's style makes fighting him a challenge?

 

That he's tough, he's got a warrior heart. But, shit, but him using meldonium makes me think, you know, for him to continue to keep going, that's what meldonium do. Shoot, it's kinda like I wanna reward him but I want to take it back in the same sentence.

 

Why do you say that you are the 'Real' Heavyeight champion when you only fight complete bums and fringe level fighters?

 

I'm the real heavyweight champ of the world because of the way I'm able to knock people out. You come to see one thing with heavyweights and that's a knockout, but Deontay Wilder and the fashion he does it in makes me the best.

 

Why do you say "BombZquad" online instead of "BombSquad"?

 

Hahaha, I'm a unique kind of person and I wanted to be different with the spelling. Somebody had that website with the S and they tried to extort me, so I changed it to a Z.

 

If someone told you that you had 1 fight left and it could be against any current heavyweight, ignoring the money factor, who would you pick to cement your legacy?

 

Uhh, I would want to fight Vitali Klitschko. I'd bring him out of retirement because he's the toughest Klitschko. The way he showed heart as an unknown against Lewis, he made me a fan that night and I'd love to fight Vitali.

 

When are you gonna knock out Tyson Fury?

 

I think a fight between me and Fury would be great. We've been promoting our fight for going on 5 years now, of me and him getting in the ring. I think when the time comes it'll be a great fight that everyone around the world will tune into. They'll see that I'll definitely beat him and take his belts.

I hope it happens. Right now he's facing a situation, being accused of taking PEDs. I hope it isn't true because then the belts will be separated, and my goal is to unify the division. HOpefully the allegations aren't true and I get the winner of his fight and collect the rest of the belts.

 

How hard does stiverne punch?

 

To be honest, I didn't feel none of Stivern'es punches. That's not to be jokey, that's honest.

 

What makes your boxing style stand out from other boxers? Also, how satsifying was it to annihilate the GOAT, Charlie Zelenoff himself?

 

I'm awkward, I'm an awkward fighter. Very crafty, and I'm tall as well, very rangy. I'm the most athletic heavyweight in the division, my speed as well, and I'm very smart in the ring

 

What is your favorite combination to throw? What legend do you wish you had the opportunity to face? How do you think the matchup would go?

 

Uh, favorite combination. I think it's the 1-2, keep it simple.

 

Who do you think is gonna win between Kovalev and Ward?

 

I like Kovalev, he's very crafty, strong aggressive fighter but I gotta go with Andre Ward. He's an overall type of fighter, he's got skills, he got defense, he's able to move with angles, and he's smart in the ring.

 

Would you rematch Bermane Stiverne considering he was hospitalised with rhabdomylosis at the time he fought you?

 

Of course I would. I would definitely give him a rematch. I told Stiverne I was going to beat him within an inch of his life and I did just that.

 

Who is the hardest puncher you have faced, including those from camp sparring sessions?

 

Ahh man, that's a hard question to answer because even in sparring and in competition, I've not yet had the opportunity of somebody just fully hitting me. I've been buzzed in a fight before, but I haven't really been hurt, like damn he hits hard. I'm the type of person who likes to hit and not be hit, I like to move, if I can take some steam off the punch before it hits me that's what I'll do.

I haven't fully felt someone's power yet.

 

Hey Deontay! Good luck this weekend. What does your training routine look like? Are you barbell training, lots of cardio, more mitt work instead? I ask because since you're a heavyweight there's no need for a weight cut, so I wonder what's the goal you set out for yourself and the end of your training camp? Thanks for taking the time to do this!

 

Well, my training routine is, in the morning I'm with my strength trainer for about an hour. I get a good breakfast in the morning, give me energy to deal with my strength trainer. After strength, I eat a good lunch and rest up and get ready for the gym work in the evening, about two hours or so depending. Whether it's mitts, or coordination, or feet. After that I go home and eat and rest for the next day.

My training is very different from other fighters, I don't do a lot of things others do. I don't even run, I don't run no miles at all. God blessed me with an ability that I don't have to run, some people have it and some people don't. Some people get blessed with a skill, like Lebron being able to see the court or play 1-2-3-4-5 positions. For me in boxing, I don't have to run at all, I don't hit the heavy bag.

Most of the time I do mitts and sparring, working on my coordinations and angles in the ring. That's how it's always been.

 

What aspects of yoor boxing game do yoo still need to improve going forward?

 

Everything. I like to improve on everything. My mentality is to go from good to great, so to be the greatest of all time I want all my skills to be polished so clean that when people see me fight, they see a star shining bright.

 

What is your prediction for Kell Brook vs Gennady Glolovkin?

 

Umm, I like both fighters, I really do. But you gotta go back to the time where Golovkin was talking about Canelo and Khan, when Khan went up in weight to fight Canelo and he was talking about the difference in weight and he shoulda did this and that. he's being a hypocrite doing the same thing to Brook when he criticized Canelo.

Boxing is a business, and if Brook accepts the fight and feels he has what it takes, then so be it. Who is anyone to say whether they should or shouldn't do it?

 

 

What's the best spot for BBQ in Alabama?

 

It's two spots actually. It's the famous Dream Land, which ahs great banana pudding. There's also a spot called Archibald's which has the best wings too. They've got one on Greensburg Avenue, across from academies. They've got the other one down Highway 11.

 

How old were you when you had your first amateur bout and for how long did you remain An amateur boxer? How big of an influence did it have on your pro career?

 

Of course I worry. I think about it every fight. That's why I abide by the golden rule, to hit and not be hit because of that very reason. I've seen many times with boxers they get punch drunk or talk with a slur or have Parkinson's or different things. That's why I want to accomplish my goal and retire and never come back.

 

What are the biggest differences between amateur boxing and pro? Something you miss about your amateur career?

 

Ooh, if they're hyping up the fight, then I think it's a smart thing to do because the more you hype it up, the more money is going to get involved. But if you're scared, say you're scared, simple as that.

 

What are some good habits to get into as a beginning boxer?

 

Having a strong work ethic. A lot of fighters come to the gym and see how hard it is and give up. You have to have a strong work ethic.

 

1)I've read that you were 19 when you first started Boxing, which seems late considering most start much earlier than that, what made you want to start boxing that late?

2)Also was there a specific moment in training when you realised how good you were and how good you could be or did you always believe you could be a great fighter?

 

1) What made me start boxing is my daughter with spina bifida. I was in college and I knew that I had a child on the way with that condition. I knew I had to drop out and get a job and I thought about boxing. I was ignorant to the sport and thought every fighter made a lot of money. I pursued boxing to get money for my daughter. I told her at a year old I'd be champion and be able to support her.

2) Oh man, it was a lot of moments in my life. It's not one specific moment, there were many where I felt that I'm really good at what I do. I was in camp training, I can't say what fight, I was training and the way I was able to do things and see things with sparring partners. Things started slowing down for me, like slow motion but at a fast pace. That's when I felt I'm good at this.

 

Who do you plan on fighting next?

 

Do you consider smaller and quicker heavyweights to be more difficult to face than the bigger, harder hitting but slower guys?

 

I think the one's that's smaller but hit hard are the most difficult, but the bigger slow guy is a target.

 

Who do you plan on fighting next?

 

Right now, nobody. Without winning against Arreola, there's not another fight, there's a step backwards so my focus is on him.

 

Who are your top five current/alltime heavyweights ?

 

Top five all time, it would have to be first the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali. Joe Louis, we're gonna do Earnie Shavers, that's three. We're gonna do Evander Holyfield. And we're gonna go with Lennox Lewis.

 

Earnie was one of the hardest hitters around, I'm going with hard hitters. When I think about hard hitters, I go with him. I might have to take Foreman in place of Lewis if I do that though, because I think George hits harder than Lewis but Lewis was undisupted champion.

 

Before the news broke about Povetkin testing positive, did you have suspicions about him earlier than that?

You're rather lean for a HW, are you lean as part of your diet strategy, or is the lean build a natural byproduct of the volume of exercise?

What metrics do you use to track your cardio development during camp?(Long run days? Incrementally adding more rounds to heavy bag or just extending length of circuit training?)

 

Nah, I don't do no metrics. I've seen fighters do that and it's kind of funny to me to try to do the scientific thing, but I don't do that. I don't know if it works or not but I don't believe it.

 

1)what do you do the night before a fight

2)How do you think you would fare against a prime Tyson.

Thanks for fighting on free tv I think big name for free really help the popularity of the sport.

 

The night before a big fight I like to do a lot of meditating and visualization. I like to visualize myself going through the course before it even happens. So when it happens, it's almost as if I've already been there, it's my guidance for what I need to do.

 

Are you into other combat sports as well or just Boxing for yourself?

Excited to watch you fight on Saturday, not the opponent we hoped for but hopefully we'll see a KO.

 

 

At the moment, it's just boxing. My main focus, I'm very focused on the test at hand what I'm trying to do in boxing, unifying the division. My main focus is boxing, but I will watch some other combat sports if a great fight comes on.

 

There's video footage of you in your amateur days with headgear on appearing to get wobbled by punches. This leads some to say your chin is suspect. What's your reaction to that?

 

That was the amateurs. When I went to Russia I caught the flu and my coach didn't want me to fight but I made him let me. Knowing that the Olympics was coming up, I needed all the experience I could have because I had no skills as an amateur. He allowed me to continue

The guy caught me, by that time I got real weak. He caught me with a shot and buzzed me and my trainer stopped it. We knew it wouldn't have been a good outcome and I would have been surprised if I won anyway. Through it all, I still ended up winning the tournament.

 

Hey Deontay,

You've obviously made some huge physical developments over the past several years. Can you give us some insight into what your strength and conditioning program has looked like since you turned professional?

 

My strength and conditioning, the trick is I've hired a personal chef and a nutritionist along with it. It involves weights, but depends on what I'm working on. Soem days we work on agility, on balance, on strengthening my core, my legs. I use a weighted vest as well too.

 

-In your opinion, what fighter in their prime would you be most intimidated by if you were fighting them?

-What was the most bizarre "training method" you've ever witnessed another fighter implementing, and did it work for them?

Good luck to you, you're one of the most genuine people in the sport. Thanks for doing this.

 

-Nobody. I'm a fighter, anybody who says they'd be intimidated, they shouldn't be fighting period.

-Marquez drinking his own pee! Marquez making a margarita out of his pee!

 

What's the best piece of advice no one gave you when you were coming up?

 

Piece of advice nobody gave me growing up is that life was going to teach me a lot of lessons and I would grow from it.

 

Truthfully, who do you think are the top dogs in the HW division besides yourself and in what order?

 

Umm, I think of course I lead the pack. I'm not saying that because it's me, but skill-wise and height. Everyone knows me as the KO artist.

After that, you gotta acknowledge the title holders. I'll pick Fury next because of his awkwardness, style and height. I put Joshua next. I put Klitschko after that. I would go with Malik Scott, gotta put my brother in there.

 

all these heavy weights are calling each other out but nobody seems to name luis ortiz....why is that?

 

Some people call Luis Ortiz out. Stiverne wanted to fight him, but they didn't want to fight Stiverne. From what I heard, he wanted to fight him and Ortiz wanted more money to fight him. A lot of things linger around about what people say or do, but Ortiz is doing what he's supposed to. They're promoting him like they're supposed to until he meets that top contender. Once he does that, the Luis Ortiz party bus will come up and it'll slow down.

 

Do you have any other big passions in life beyond Boxing?

 

Oh yeah, I'm passionate about tattoos even though I haven't had one in years. I'm passionate about guns, I collect a lot. I'm passionate about motorcycles. And I'm passionate about reading books, just now started back into really reading more books.

 

Who was it in your camp who made the ultimate decision not to go ahead with the Povetkin fight?

 

Umm, I think it was, well, the WBC didn't want to show a bad example. They didn't want a bad example shown that it was OK to still fight because they conduct the clean boxing policy so they wanted to do investigations first.

(asked if hes still willing to fight Povetkin)

Once justice is served and he gets his punishment, I'd love to fight him. He took away something from the fans, took away something from me so it's fuel to the fire. This time around, he'd have to come to the United States.

 

Hey champ, how disappointed were you that your fight with Povetkin had to be put on hold due to his positive test? In taking a fight with Arreola, were there any adjustments made to your training camp or did you continue training the way you did for Povetkin? Thanks. BOMMMMMMMBZ SQUAAAAAAAAAAD!!

 

Oh, I was so disappointed that I had a slight depression, that's how bad I wanted to fight him. (Asked where he was when he heard)

We was in the lobby, ready to get out in the morning to leave from Russia. I was two hours from leaving.

(on training)

I continued to train the same way. We didn't see no neeeds to adjust in training or with sparring partners. It wasn't a dramatic change as if he was a 6-7 guy, we'd have to bring in a tall sparrer.

 

1) It's well documented that you had what most would consider a late start in boxing. In the amateurs how did you manage to catch up to boxers who had plenty experience over you to the point where you got to represented the US in the Olympics and now to the point where you are a world champion?

2) This is more of a silly question but being a world champion boxer, you must get to know a lot of non-boxer celebrities. Any cool stories you can share?

 

1) Well, really to be honest, I never caught up. As an amateur, I always said I never had skills, I fought off will and heart. And I did it for my daughter.

2) Not at the moment, I don't have any cool celebrity stories to tell. I'm sorry! Even if I had one, I probably wouldn't share people's business.

 

Any superstitions during a training camp / fight week? Froch didn't fuck, Bradley didn't shower, Margarito put bricks in his gloves. Just wondered if there's anything you do that you think gives you an edge?

 

Hahahaha. Nah, I don't believe in superstition. I seen superstition destroy fighters in the amateurs so I don't let my mind get involved with that.

 

You famously got into boxing to provide for your daughter. How's she doing these days?

 

My daughter is 11 now, and she's wonderful. Shes one of the smartest little girls in her class, she's very intelligent. To be a child of spina bifida, every time I see her I'm proud of her.

 

About two years ago we did an AMA with your opponent Chris Arreola. He was asked his impression of you and how he'd approach a fight with you. Here's what he had to say...

Well Deontay Wilder I still haven't seen much of him. The way I would approach that fight is the way I'd approach any fight. I approach it with a fuck you attitude. I don't care who you are, where you've been, what you've done. I'm not going to sit on the outside with that kid. He caught Malik Scott from the outside. you can't box a boxer. I have to muscle him, make him know he's in a fight.

What's your response to that?

 

I tell him I don't believe in luck, but good luck. Many fighters believe the key to beating Deontay Wilder is to rpessure him, to muscle him, be dirty with him. Those same guys who thought that was the remedy ended up on the canvas.

 

Is David Haye on your radar? I recall that you two sparred some time ago but it's all gone quiet since he's been fighting bums.

 

At this moment in time, he's not on my radar.

 

What's your opinion on Shannon Briggs? Is he insane?

 

I do think he's insane. I think he's insane, he's crazy, he's got a mental illness. But if it works for him and that's his way of entertaining people and fans love it, then hey, continue.

 

Tyson Fury talks trash about you, but deep down, it's clear he has a lot of respect for you - we've seen glimpses of it in his interviews. I know he's your rival, but what are your true thoughts on Tyson Fury, as a boxer and as a person?

 

As a boxer, I think Fury is good for boxing for the entertainment part of boxing. When you talk about boxing, you talk about entertainment, something that will arouse people, make them remember something. with his personality, he's good for it. He says some of the craziest things, whether he's for real or not, he's good for boxing.

As for as a person, he's a silly guy. I see a lot of similarities in him that I have, being a silly guy, but if that's his personality you have to accept that. I'm the type of person that don't hold nothing against nobody, nothing personal. My life is blessed and I don't care what people do or say.

 

I wanna tell my fans, from the bottom of my heart, I love them very much and thank you for the support. Especially my "day ones" that's been with me, believed in me from day one. I love you I love you I love you.

Stay tuned for the future of heavyweight boxing. For now, tune into Fox on Saturday. It's me against Chris Arreola. The 4th of July has passed, but who's to say we can't have another in the ring. It's goin down!

BoooooooooooombZquad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ton]

Re: Deontay Wilder "Ask Me Anything" - Fans' Q&A

 

Not reading all that :whistle:;-)

[The_budweiser]

Re: Deontay Wilder "Ask Me Anything" - Fans' Q&A

 

Not reading all that :whistle:;-)

 

I copy pasted it for you :mlol: He didn't answer a lot of questions but the ones he did are above :-)

[Cableaddict]

Re: Deontay Wilder "Ask Me Anything" - Fans' Q&A

 

Not reading all that :whistle:;-)

 

Your loss!

 

- Though to be honest, Deontay rarely says anything that's important or insightful. This time was no exception.

[gavpowell]

Re: Deontay Wilder "Ask Me Anything" - Fans' Q&A

 

Your loss!

 

- Though to be honest, Deontay rarely says anything that's important or insightful. This time was no exception.

 

He was certainly very dull this time, though the questions were pretty anodyne so not really any scope for insight. The highlight for me was a guy who kept me guessing whether he was genuine or taking the piss - he reminded me of Stan by Eminem:

 

Dear Deontay,

I feel like I can call you Deontay because you and me are so alike. I'd like to meet you one day, it would be great to have a spar. I know I can't hit as hard as you but I think you'd be impressed with my power. I love your hair, you punch fast. Did you have a good relationship with your father? Me neither. These are all things we can talk about and more. I know you have not been getting my messages because I know you would write back if you did. I hope you write back this time, and we can become good friends. I am sure our relationship would be a real knockout!