Deontay Wilder reveals double defeat to Tyson Fury almost drove him to retire to take care of his eight kids
DEONTAY WILDER admits the back-to-back Tyson Fury defeats almost drove him to become Daddy Day Care.
The 6ft 7in 38-year-old father of EIGHT suffered crushing knockout losses to Brit Fury in 2020 and 2021 which sent the devout son of a preacher into a worrying spiral.
The rags-to-riches success story of a former Budweiser delivery driver who turned to boxing to support daughter Naieya, who was born with spina bifida in 2005, suddenly turned very dark.
Videos on social media suggested the monster-punching gentle giant could not beat Fury, nor the demons that followed.
And he admits – while happy now – he almost retired to focus on raising the brood he hopes to continue boosting.
Ahead of Saturday’s semi-final fight with Joseph Parker — that could lead to a mouth-watering Anthony Joshua March 9 final — he said: “I was close to retiring.
“A lot of people say, ‘Is he depressed? There are so many things going on with me, what’s wrong?’ I tell them it’s none of those things.
“I just started enjoying my family a bit more. I have eight children. I was able to be more involved in their lives.
“It was very enjoyable to see my youngest children grow and take them on trips, like camping, going on adventures with them.”
Eight nippers sounds like a tough enough daily sparring session — but the Bronze Bomber wants A DOZEN.
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He said: “I have eight and I want four more!
“I would love 50 but 12 would be ideal. I would love 50 but I’d have to find the women to do that. Unfortunately, my wife is only one woman for me.”
US star Wilder expects to beat Parker and hopes AJ comes through dangerous southpaw Otto Wallin in the other semi.
Then the pair – who should have boxed in 2018-2019 when they shared all four heavyweight titles – should finally meet in a bout Wilder reckons is Joshua’s last resort.
He said: “They ran out of options. Who is he going to fight, Otto Wallin three more times?
“What’s knucklehead’s name? Dillian Whyte. How many times is he going to fight him?
“The only way they can do that is if the paying customers continue to support it. But now he’s not making the money he used to make.
“It went from ‘he’s getting paid the most out of everyone’ to ‘he’ll fight for less than anyone’.
“The time is near and he better get ready – because management and promoters are not going to be able to stop this.”