Deontay Wilder after "payback" and "blood" as he prepares for Tyson Fury fight

Deontay Wilder may have a loss on his record but he hasn't lost an ounce of confidence.

The Bronze Bomber still believes he is destined for greatness in the heavyweight division.

Some may scoff at that claim considering the one-sided nature of his defeat by Tyson Fury in February 2020.

But he is a fighter who made 10 straight defences of the WBC title and does not care what those who doubt him think.

His 44-fight CV now has a blemish but he is as bullish as ever.

The American insists he is coming for blood when he finally gets his chance to regain the WBC heavyweight title on October 9 in Las Vegas.

The pair meet again in the same city where Fury scored a seventh-round stoppage victory last time out.

By the time the third meeting comes around, we will have had to wait 19 months since they were last in the ring together thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A lot has changed but the question remains the same: can Wilder respond?

It is the last chance at revenge for the 35-year-old Alabama man but, with that, does it bring the final opportunity to silence the critics who have written him off since his first career defeat?

“I don't have anything to prove to anybody,” said Wilder, who has viciously knocked out 41 of his 42 victims.

“All of my career in boxing, people have always doubted me and I've always proved them wrong.

“I don't stress over things that I can't control.

“If people dislike you or they're haters of yours or envious of you, they won't see it any other way no matter how much you prove them wrong.

“Everything I've done in my career, people said I couldn't do.

“They've never been happy so what will change with this fight? I don't have anything to prove.

“This is me moving on with my career for myself and the people who support me.

“This is a trilogy, we are getting what was contracted and signed. I just want to follow through with it and get back what is mine.

“You are looking at the best heavyweight in all the generations and everyone will witness it again on October 9. I can't wait to show it.”

But he must bounce back. The defeat to Fury sparked changes in Wilder's camp. Even in the dressing room of the MGM Grand just minutes after he had lost the WBC heavyweight title, he started plotting how he would come back.

Trainer Mark Breland, the former Olympic gold medallist and world champion, was sacked after throwing in the towel.

Friend and former opponent Malik Scott was brought in as a new coach, while his other trainer Jay Deas remains firmly part of the team.

Wilder seems refocused and rejuvenated, even if the anger of the defeat still bubbles within.

And the Bronze Bomber believes the loss to Fury turned out to be a positive as it has made him even more confident.

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“People lose every day through life, a loss doesn't define me as a person or as a man,” he said.

“And in boxing that loss doesn't define me because it wasn't a loss that was done fair and square.

“If anything it motivated me. It made me a better person, it made me even more confident in myself.

“It made me confident in what I'm going to do on October 9 and what I'm going to do moving forward in my future in my career.

“It is a blessing in disguise what happened. It changed me in so many different ways.

“My words are not even enough to explain and describe it, you will have to witness it and see. Only then will everyone understand what I mean.”

This third fight should have taken place in July 2020. But the Covid-19 pandemic caused delays.

All the talk turned to British star Fury facing his compatriot and WBA, IBF and WBO champion Anthony Joshua.

Fury claimed he was free of the Wilder contract, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn banged the drum as he roared that all roads led to Saudi Arabia for the undisputed clash.

But all the while, Wilder's team were working behind the scenes in ensuring they got what a binding contract entitled them to – a third fight.

There was a feeling within their team that they had been lazily forgotten about but they were confident they would not be dismissed.

Wilder, with the help of his managers Shelly Finkel and Al Haymon and along with their legal teams, bided their time and got what they wanted from US arbitrator Daniel Weinstein on May 17.

Hearn was left furious, Joshua was angry.

But Wilder did not take any extra joy from stopping Hearn and Joshua getting a mammoth payday despite their verbal sparring sessions in the past.

“There wasn't no enjoyment in it at all,” he said.

“We had a contract that had to be fulfilled.

“I knew the Joshua fight wouldn't happen regardless. I didn't have any feelings towards it all.

“I let them do what they did, they falsely advertised something but I knew what the deal was.

“When you have a white piece of paper and some black ink on it, then you're signed to it and if you don't follow through with that then there are consequences with that action.”

Wilder may not be motivated by proving doubters wrong but does not seem willing to shake off his belief that he was unjustly beaten by the self-proclaimed Gypsy King when they met 18 months ago.

It seems to be what the American is using to motivate himself to exact revenge. He has made the motto in his camp “an eye for an eye”.

“It is more personal now,” added Wilder. “I lifted him out of a dark place, I allowed him to breathe, I gave him money to feed his family and he went and crossed me.

“I am a man of honesty, I am a man of truth. If you do something fair and square, you can handle it. “If not then any man will seek revenge.

“It is an eye for an eye, it is payback, we want it back in blood.

“To my fans, my lovers, my haters the message is: don't blink.”

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