Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has finalized his return to boxing to face Robert Helenius on October 15th. The last time Wilder fought, he was knocked out by Tyson Fury in the 11th round of their trilogy fight. He will now have his sights set on contending for the title following his return.
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The Bronze Bomber is considered to be one of the tallest boxers in his division standing at a towering 6-feet-7-inches, with only Tyson Fury above him at 6-feet-9-inches. However, Wilder certainly did not look like his towering self in a picture with the newly crowned UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
Deontay Wilder with new UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards… pic.twitter.com/PgWTXOBamj
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) August 24, 2022
A 6’7 Wilder can be seen standing alongside ‘Rocky’ who stands at 6’3. Even though Wilder has four inches over Edwards, the size difference between them was not a lot. Moreover, fans were quick to point this out as they reacted to the picture.
Fans react to Wilder’s slim look
One fan stated that Wilder looked short compared to Edwards in the picture, which he did not expect.
Deontay looks so short here. Expected him to be way taller than Leon, but man he only looks to tower over him by a very few inches.
— Daniel Dragovic (@dragovic_daniel) August 25, 2022
Another fan pointed out Wilder’s noticeable weight loss and claimed that Edwards was looking fitter.
Damn Wilder looking slim as fk from waist 👎. Homeboy from the UFC looking fitter.
— Raul Calderillo (@RCalderillo) August 24, 2022
Moreover, another fan also commented on Wilder’s weight loss, hilariously comparing him to a middle-weight.
Damn he's looking like a middleweight!
— Leon 🐍 (@the_fightfiend) August 25, 2022
One fan tried to troll him by zooming in on his legs and rhetorically asked him what he trained.
what’s he been training 😩😩🍗legs pic.twitter.com/fQ9GjIkkds
— SLIME (@slimepunch) August 24, 2022
However, one fan defended The Bronze Bomber and stated that he was at his most dangerous at that size. He also added that Wilder would not lose any power because he was naturally gifted with it while pointing out his improvements in the third Fury fight.
Wilder looks a lot slimmer probably the most dangerous when he’s that size around 215-220 he isn’t exactly going to lose a lot of power he’s just gifted when it comes to that plus he showed improvements in the 3rd fight with fury in his boxing
— BW (@Bwhiteyyyy) August 25, 2022
The only way we can see if Wilder’s new training routine will work will be on October 15. Even though fans might think he lost a lot of weight, the former champion could be trying out new methods to improve his skill set.
Which heavyweights have a chance to beat Deontay Wilder except for Tyson Fury?
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Many people believe that Fury was able to beat Wilder because of their similar size. However, Fury was the more skilled boxer out of the two. Wilder has been reliant on his power throughout his career, especially his right cross. Even though boxers can out-box him, the threat of his power overshadows it. In his fight against Ortiz, Wilder was outboxed through the majority of the fight, but he knocked out Ortiz in the 10th round.
Fighters like Anthony Joshua, who are similar to Wilder in size, could pose a threat to him. However, the only person to beat him survived his right hand, a feat not matched by anyone else.
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What did you think about Wilder’s drastic change? Let us know in the comments.