Hall-of-fame fighter, Andre Ward, has made his prediction for the beginning of Deontay Wilder’s comeback trail following two conclusive losses to current champion, Tyson Fury.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ went his entire career undefeated until he came up against the man from Morecambe. The pair’s latest fight saw Wilder battered around the ring and eventually stopped in the eleventh.
Now, with his return to the ring against Robert Helenius just days away, Ward wants some questions answered. He spoke to Max Kellerman about the heavyweight clash.
“The only questions that I have for Deontay Wilder is what lingering effects, if any, will those [Fury] fights hold over his psychological make up and his physical body.
We’ve seen weird things in boxing … One guy gets knocked out for the first time in his career and all of a sudden he can’t take a punch the same way. Not saying that’s gonna be the case with Deontay Wilder, but you have to watch those kind of things.”
Having said all of that, the former two-weight world champion believes that Wilder’s infamous power will save the day once again.
“But in terms of his offence, in terms of his mentality, he’s gonna be the same Deontay Wilder and I believe he gets the knockout in this fight.”
Wilder could have certainly picked an easier comeback fight. Helenius, although at the tail end of his career, is coming off the back of two consecutive, and impressive, wins over Adam Kownacki. ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ has 20 wins by knockout and, while perhaps not as powerful as Wilder, definitely has what it takes to end the fight in the distance.
The pair meet in the ring this Saturday in Arizona. US fans can tune in via Fox Sports PPV at a price point of $74.99, whilst UK fans can watch along on FITE TV for £12.99.