Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Deontay Wilder was expected to give cornerman, Mark Breland, his walking papers after throwing in the towel in the seventh round of “Bronze Bomber’s” rematch with Tyson Fury earlier this month.
Wilder was getting pummeled by “Gypsy King” from the opening bell of their anticipated heavyweight reboot, but never wanted to have the fight stopped. The former WBC champion had warned his entire corner earlier in his career to never throw the towel in no matter what so you can imagine the drama that ensued for Team Wilder.
“So I told my team to never, ever, no matter what it may look like, to never throw the towel in with me because I’m a special kind. I still had five rounds left. No matter what it looked like, I was still in the fight,” Wilder told Yahoo after the fight. “I understand he was looking out for me and trying to do what he felt was right, but this is my life and my career and he has to accept my wishes.”
Now, after exercising his right to fight Fury in a trilogy bout, Wilder is changing his tune and has decided to keep Breland on his team. “Bronze Bomber” still doesn’t agree with his cornerman’s decision to throw the towel in, but he understands where he was coming from.
“I’m a warrior. I feel the same way I felt on fight night,” said Wilder in a statement to The Athletic. “If I have to go out, I want to go out on my shield. But I understand that my corner and my team has my best interest at heart. Mark Breland is still a part of Team Wilder.”
This is likely a good move for Wilder as the previously undefeated heavyweight is coming off his first career loss. Having all hands on deck for a third fight with Fury is the best decision Wilder could make, even if his recent TKO loss to “Gypsy King” was due to a 45-pound costume.
Wilder, who is now without the WBC heavyweight title for the first time since 2014, is already gearing up for another shot at Fury. The 34-year-old knockout artist took to social media earlier this week to send the following video message to all of his fans:
“Hello my people.
Your king is here.
We ain’t going nowhere.
The war has just begun.
We will rise again…”Deontay Wilder sends an intense message to Tyson Fury in his first appearance since #WilderFury2 pic.twitter.com/ARCXj54vmB
— Boxing on BT Sport (@BTSportBoxing) February 29, 2020
“Hello my people,” said Wilder. “Your king is here. We ain’t going nowhere. The war has just begun. We will rise again.
It’s an intense message to say the least, especially because Wilder is as real as it gets. But considering Fury was able to dominate Wilder from the opening seconds of their rematch earlier this month “Bronze Bomber” is going to have to make many adjustments in training to regain his stranglehold on the boxing world later this year.