Deontay Wilder slims down 24 pounds to 214.5 for Robert Helenius fight

10/14/2022

Deontay Wilder shows off dramatic weight loss after shedding 24 POUNDS down to 214.5 in the wake of his 2021 trilogy bout with Tyson Fury, as he prepares for heavyweight clash with ‘Nordic Nightmare’ Robert Helenius

Ex-heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder (42-2-1) has shed down to 214.5 pounds
Wilder faces Swedish-Finnish fighter Robert Helenius on Saturday in Brooklyn
He weighed 238 pounds in his 2021 loss to Tyson Fury in the finale of their trilogy
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Former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (42-2-1) has shed down to 214.5 pounds for Saturday’s bout against Robert Helenius, which is nearly 24 pounds lighter than he was last year for his trilogy bout with Tyson Fury.

Wilder, who was knocked out by Fury in the 11th round last October, previously fought around 214, so it’s not a stretch that the 36-year-old would come in so light for Saturday’s bout in Brooklyn.

In fact, Wilder was at 212 pounds for his first bout against Fury, which he nearly won before losing a controversial decision in 2018.

Helenius (31-3-0) tipped the scales at 253.25 pounds, which is customary for the Swedish-Finnish fighter.

Deontay Wilder and Robert Helenius face off during their weigh in at Barclays Center on Friday in Brooklyn, New York. The bout will be a WBC Heavyweight Title Eliminator fight taking place at Barclays Center on Saturday

Deontay Wilder weighs in at 238 pounds during his weigh-in before a fight against Tyson Fury for the World Heavyweight Championship at T-Mobile Arena on October 8, 2021 in Las Vegas

Wilder, 37, is hoping to resurrect his title chances before age 40, when he says he plans to retire.

But after suffering consecutive knockout defeats to Fury in 2021 and 2020, the Alabama native needs to generate some momentum against Helenius to have a shot at his British rival or Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, the current IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion.

‘I only want three years left up in this business,’ Wilder told reporters, ‘and I’m ready to fight the best and I’m willing, able and ready to do whatever I’ve got to do to make it back to the top.’

Of course, Wilder’s hard-hitting reputation (41 career knockouts) will help to keep him among the best draws in boxing.

‘When I’m in the arena, or when I’m in a fight, you know I keep people on the edge of their seats because you don’t know what’s going to happen,’ Wilder said. ‘But when it happens baby, bam, good night.’

Swedish-Finnish boxer Robert The Nordic Nightmare Helenius poses during his weigh-in ahead of his WBC Heavyweight title fight against former WBC Heavyweight World Champion boxer Deontay The Bronze Bomber Wilder in New York on Friday

On Thursday, Wilder expressed his burning desire to face off against Anthony Joshua in Africa, that’s despite not yet getting past Saturday night’s opponent, Helenius.

Wilder and Joshua have long had on-and-off again discussions about a super fight between two of the modern heavyweight division’s greatest. Now, it seems Wilder is committed to delivering the fight in the future.

‘Everywhere I go I hear people say me and Joshua, me and Joshua, and that’s the number one fight for them,’ Wilder said during a pre-press conference media scrum. ‘If that’s the number one fight in the world for me to have, that’s what I want.’

Wilder is hellbent on having the fight on the African continent despite lucrative offers available to the pair within the United Kingdom and the United States.

‘Africa, and solely Africa, you know, I mean? It haven’t been a fight there a long, long time [sic],’ he said.

‘It’d be a good fight, I mean just going back to the continent, you know, and being on the motherland, and place feet on the soil of there.’

Wilder spent most of the pre-fight press conference scrum fielding questions about his future rather than his present. It included entertaining the prospect of fighting current WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk — who will be ringside at the Barclays Center.

Oleksandr Usyk has said he would be willing to fight Wilder if Tyson Fury isn’t an option

The Ukrainian has said he would be willing to fight Wilder if Tyson Fury isn’t an option.

‘I haven’t had any conversation with him,’ Wilder said of Usyk. ‘You know, I’m on the outside looking in… If he’s a man of his word, and certain people have validated yes, so I’m looking forward to him being a man of his word.’

Despite failing to win any of the trilogy fights against Fury, Wilder seemed rejuvenated Thursday after setting foot in the arena which he claims as a ‘second home.’ His record is four knockouts from four fights in Brooklyn.

‘We just went back to the basics of the day, we went back to having fun and doing things and what got me here,’ Wilder said of his fight preparation.

‘Come Saturday night I don’t want people to think that I found a new style or anything like that. [I’m] just going back to the basics of things you know.’

Approaching his 38th birthday, the former heavyweight champ is under no illusions he is nearer to the end than the beginning — entering what he terms as the ‘second phase’ of his career. While ‘the grass is green’, he is still aiming to stay at the apex of the heavyweight division.

‘I’m not gonna stop picking up where I left off at,’ Wilder said. ‘I only have three years left guys and now those three years gonna go by super fast so with that being said, I don’t want to waste any time I don’t want to waste my time nor the fans’ time.’

Despite failing to win any of the trilogy fights against Tyson Fury, Wilder seems rejuvenated

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