Deontay Wilder believes Oleksandr Usyk is scared to fight him

By Andrew Whitelaw - May 30, 2023

Deontay Wilder wants a crack at Oleksandr Usyk but believes the unified heavyweight champion is reluctant to fight him out of fear.

‘The Bronze Bomber’ held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, and successfully defended the belt on 10 occasions before losing to Tyson Fury in October 2021. The former Olympian returned to the ring a year later where he knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round.

Usyk was due to take on the winner of that bout, but that fight is yet to transpire.

Speaking in a recent interview with ESNews, Deontay Wilder said,

“I’m all for it but…he’s a little afraid—Not a little afraid, but a lot afraid you know what I mean? I’m in the business, so I know a lot of things,” explained the former champ.

“I’m ready to go any moment of time, place, no matter what it is. They know that …I’m simple. I don’t put up to much of a fight in terms of trying to get a fight done. We all need to eat, and that’s how it should be. Being able to help each other eat,” Deontay Wilder added.

Deontay Wilder

Uysk won the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles with a unanimous decision win over Anthony Joshua in 2021. He then defended those titles as well as adding the vacant The Ring title to his accolades when he scored a split decision against the Brit in their rematch the following year.

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Since then, ‘The Cat’ has been constantly linked to a superfight with Tyson Fury. Recent reports suggest that a stacked card is being assembled for Saudi Arabia that aims to place that clash alongside Deontay Wilder vs Anthony Joshua in the co-main event. The latter match-up was recently described by the American’s trainer as ‘almost signed.’

As well as Usyk, the big man was also quizzed about the scheduled clash between welterweight champions Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. that’s set to take place on July 29 in Las Vegas,

“I’ve been rocking with Errol for a while but Crawford – he’s got skills, he’s a great guy as well and he’s exciting,” said Deontay Wilder.

“Both of those guys bring the excitement to the business and it’s something that should have happened a long time ago but here we are now at the present. Can’t talk about the past” he continued.

Which of these mega clashes are you most excited about?