Deontay Wilder Net Worth: How Much Does Boxing Pay?
You might not know much about him, even though he has been the WBC heavyweight champion since 2017. You won’t believe Deontay Wilder‘s net worth!
Image Source/ Lowkick MMA
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Deontay Wilder’s net worth is $30 million (£25 million).
How he became known as ‘The Bronze Bomber’…
On October 22nd, 1985 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Deontay Leshun Wilder was born.
He started boxing in 2005, when he was 20 years-old. He trained under Jay Deas at the Skyy Boxing Gym in Northport (Alabama).
In 2007 he won both the National Golden gloves and the US Championships – much to the favourites dismay. Deontay continued to win his fights, most notably against the cadet (16-17 year-old) world champion, Isiah Thomas as well as Quantis Graves and James Zimmerman.
Deontay was making so much impact in the boxing world that he was asked to participate in the 2008 Olympic trials. Yet again he was up against Graves, but beat him twice and ended up winning the Olympic trials!
It was his wins against Deivis Julio, Jorge Quinones and Rafael Lima that secured his place in the 2008 Olympic team.
At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Deontay competed in the heavyweight division. He defeated Algeria’s Abdelaziz Touilbini and Morocco’s Mohamed Arjaoui, but lost to Italy’s Clemente Russo; this earned him the bronze medal.
This is what led to his nickname, ‘The Bronze Bomber’; it is inspired by ‘The Brown Bomber’, also known as, Joe Louis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqId3RYhkWQ
Video Source/ YouTube
How he gained the WBC heavyweight title…
At this point in his career, Deontay was still not a professional. His next few fights were extremely important to gain that status.
His debut was against Ethan Cox in 2008; he was just 23. Deontay knocked out Ethan three times in the second round of the fight, it was after this that the referee stopped the fight.
The following year Deontay fought seven fights and won every single won in the first round! His winning streak continued and by October 2012 he had 25 wins by knockout under his belt.
Deontay’s professional debut saw him fight Kelvin Price in December 2012. He then went on to gain the WBC heavyweight title and he has defended it since 2017. The previous holder of the title was Bermane Stiverne.
Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder…
Deontay and Tyson both have never lost a fight, so it was only a matter of time before they came head to head in a fight.
When Tyson was asked about the fight he said:
‘We have two men who will fight anyone. This man has been trying to make a fight with another chump. They called, I answered. I said: ‘Send me the contract.’ They sent it. I said ‘yes’.’
The fight was agreed for December 1st, 2018.
Before their fight, both men were confident in their abilities and weren’t afraid to show it:
Video Source/ YouTube
The California State Athletic Commission revealed that Deontay would be paid $4 million guaranteed whereas Tyson would only get $3 million guaranteed. However, people claimed that they could actually make over $10 million EACH due to pay-per-viewer revenue.
After a pretty even fight, the competitors both believed that they were the winner:
Tyson:
‘We’re on away soil. I got knocked down twice, but I still believe I won that fight. I’m being a total professional here. God bless America. The ‘Gypsy King’ has returned. That man is a fearsome puncher, and I was able to avoid that. The world knows I won the fight. I hope I did you all proud after nearly three years out of the ring. I showed good heart to get up. I came here tonight, and I fought my heart out’.
Deontay:
‘I think with the two knockdowns, I definitely won the fight. We poured our hearts out tonight. We’re both warriors. I rushed my punches. I didn’t sit still. I was too hesitant. I started overthrowing the right hand, and I just couldn’t adjust. I was rushing my punches. That’s something I usually don’t do. I really wanted to get him out of there, give the fans what they want to see’.
The match ended in a draw – a first for both fighters. After the fight, both competitors called out Anthony Joshua to fight them. However, Anthony is first taking on Andy Ruiz Jr in December.
Image Source/ Instagram
Deontay’s other notable fights…
Luis Ortiz returned to boxing by fighting Daniel Martz in December 2017. After the fight, Luis called out Deontay, who was sitting ringside, for a fight.
Deontay, never one to miss out on an opportunity, Deontay entered the ring and said:
‘I guarantee you, you’ll have the fight’.
The fight took place on March 3rd, 2018 and was the WBC Heavyweight world title. The fight wasn’t easy; it was in the 10th round that Deontay knocked out Luis to maintain his title.
Speaking about the win, Deontay said:
”King Kong’ ain’t got nothing on me. A true champion always finds a way to come back, and that’s what I did tonight. Luis Ortiz is definitely a crafty guy. He put up a great fight. We knew we had to wear him down. I showed everyone I can take a punch. When Ortiz leaves tonight, he can hold his head high. He gave the fans a hell of a fight’.
Luis responded to this, stating:
‘I feel fine. I did receive a right hand, but I’m OK. I was listening to the directions that my corner was giving me. In this sport, any punch can end a fight. It was a great fight and I performed well’.
Deontay earned the largest amount of money he had ever received for a fight at the time, a staggering $2.1 million.
In May 2019, Deontay managed to defend his WBC Heavyweight title against Dominic Breazeale – Deontay managed to knock Dominic out in the first round.
