Former World Champion Says A ‘Failed One-Trick Pony’: “I Told You ALL

The former WBC Champion went 40 fights undefeated in his campaign, ending 39 of them inside the distance, before he faced Tyson Fury. The Brit was coming back from a long and damaging lay-off but scored a draw on the cards, surviving two knockdowns.

wilder knocked Dominic Breazeale out in one round and Luis Ortiz in seven before facing Fury again when he would taste defeat in the manner he had been dishing out for years. ‘The Gypsy King’ dominated and stopped him in seven. Wilder was more competitive in the third fight but was ultimately knocked out again.

Since then he has beaten Robert Helenius but lost back-to-back against Joseph Parker (UD) and Zhilei Zhang (KO, 5). It’s not the losses that have made pundits call for him to retire, rather the way in which he has fought – tentatively and without the same threat.

In an interview with Fight Hub TV, three-weight world champion James Toney said that he saw it coming, criticising Wilder’s resume and calling him a ‘one-trick pony’ who didn’t belong at the top level.

“Deontay Wilder and that bomb bulls**t. Everybody was believing in that. I told everyone look who he’s fighting. He fighting bums. If I was fighting them I would have all fights by knockout. The guys he fought I would’ve knocked out in two, three rounds too. They built him up right and then when it was time to come through, he failed. He wasn’t ready. It’s sad seeing what happen to him but it is what it is. Deontay was a one-trick pony.”

Toney has long argued that the fighters of today wouldn’t last two fights in his own era. He was famously tough, losing ten in his career but never being stopped. With 92 fights in total, many felt he clung on too long and should’ve hung up the gloves earlier. Some in the sport are now encouraging Wilder to think the same way.