'I Will Baptize You': Deontay Wilder is Coming for the Heavyweight Division

Vince McMahon would've been proud. If World Wrestling Entertainment's CEO had been in charge of booking Saturday night's WBC heavyweight title fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, he couldn't have come up with a better script. Chase a vicious knockout with a salty verbal altercation, and all of a sudden there's some intrigue in this much-maligned division. Whether anything comes from the hoopla remains to be seen. But for one night, at least, two undefeated heavyweights held the stage and possibly set up a big bout later this year for the undisputed title if their winning streaks continue.

Deontay Wilder, the first heavyweight champion from the U.S. in a decade, retained his title and improved to 36-0 when his right hand punch landed on challenger Artur Szpilka's jaw with 46 seconds remaining in the ninth round. Szpilka's neck snapped back immediately, and he remained on the canvas for several minutes as medical personnel came to the ring to make sure he was okay. Wilder celebrated, screaming "I told you" exultantly to the crowd. He then went over to check on his opponent and praise him for his effort. It wasn't really a wrestling match, after all.

Szpilka, a lefthander from Poland who fell to 20-2, sustained a concussion, left the ring on a stretcher, and was held for observation in a nearby hospital before being released a few hours later. He is scheduled to see a doctor soon about a potential broken right hand, although that was thankfully the extent of his physical injuries. Szpilka had fought admirably, even though he was behind on all three judges' cards. But when Wilder connected, he knew Szpilka had become his 35th knockout victim. So did everyone else at Barclays.

"If Deontay hits anybody right, it's goodnight," said Jay Deas, Wilder's trainer since he began boxing in 2005. "He says when he can feel the bones of their faces in his hand, he knows it's over."

Somehow, the in-ring fireworks were just the beginning. As Szpilka lay on the canvas and Wilder was expressing concern for him to Showtime announcer Jim Gray, lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury entered the ring. Fury, who upset Wladimir Klitschko in late November for his titles, had flown in from England and wanted to make his intentions known and taunt Wilder. The two had previously exchanged words on Twitter, but they took it to another level on Saturday.

"There's only one Tyson Fury," Fury screamed. "What you got to say about that, Deontay? What you got to say about that?"

"Hold on a second," Gray said. "Hold on a second. Let's keep this civil here. Would you like to fight?"

"We all know Fury," Wilder said. "You're just a phony, man. This is just for an act. You know where I am, you know what time, you know what place. I ain't scared of nobody. I'll come to your backyard, baby, for that, my man. I promise you that."

As he spoke, the 6-foot-7 Wilder drew closer to the 6-foot-9 Fury. At the end, their noses were nearly touching. "Listen," Fury said. "Any time, any place, anywhere. I'll fight you in your backyard. Like the bum Klitschko, I'll beat you, you bum. You're a bum."

Promoter Lou DiBella, who stood next to Fury with a big smile on his face during the verbal sparring, then helped push Fury back to the ropes to separate the fighters. Fury pulled off his best Ric Flair impersonation from there, taking off his vest and slamming it to the canvas, prancing around, walking up the turnbuckles and yelling uncontrollably. Wilder wasn't amused.

"This ain't wrestling," Wilder said. "This ain't the WWE, baby. When you do step in this ring with me—if you do, because this could've been done a long time ago—you can run around like you're a preacher and all that you want. But baby, I promise you. When you step in this ring, I will baptize you."

This being boxing, the jarring between the fighters still may not lead to a payoff down the road. Fury has a rematch scheduled with Klitschko in the spring, while Wilder is likely to face Alexander Povetkin, although nothing is official. Both Fury and Wilder may even be underdogs in their next fights. Klitschko was a heavy favorite against Fury before their last bout. And Povetkin is 30-1, with his only loss coming via unanimous decision against Klitschko.

Still, Wilder is confident he can beat Povetkin, who sat ringside on Saturday night. Wilder was asked what he thought Povetkin was thinking when he saw Wilder knock out Szpilka. "Oh shit," Wilder said.

Former champions Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis were also on hand on Saturday and received hearty applause when they were introduced. Their presence brought back memories of a time when heavyweights were proven pay-per-view draws, and names recognizable even to most casual sports fans. That's no longer the case, and not by a long shot. Saturday's fight was part of Showtime's free promotional weekend and was streamed live, for free, on YouTube.

For the heavyweight division to regain its luster, promoters and boxing officials are banking in part on Wilder continuing to develop and keeping his unbeaten streak alive. He is a charismatic man with an intriguing background that may appeal to a larger audience. Also he can fight a bit.

Wilder started boxing as a 20-year-old in late 2005. He had recently dropped out of Shelton State Community College in his hometown of Tuscaloosa so he could focus on supporting his daughter, who was born that March and had spina bifida. When Wilder showed up at Skyy Gym in nearby Northport, Deas noticed Wilder was tall, athletic—he played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track as a kid—and hit hard.

During one sparring session, Wilder knocked down a journeyman heavyweight with years of professional experience. "The guy gets up with a big smile on his face and looks at me and says, 'Whatever you do, keep him,'" Deas said. "I knew that we had something. As unrefined as he was, there was something there that was uncommon."

Deas typically waits at least six months before scheduling a boxer's first amateur bout, but Wilder fought within two months of joining the gym and moved up the ranks quickly. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wilder was the only U.S. boxer to win a medal, capturing the bronze in the heavyweight division. He made his professional debut three months later, scoring a second round TKO.

Early in his career, Wilder made extra money by working as a waiter at IHOP and Red Lobster; he also drove a truck and delivered beer. As his win streak grew, he quit those jobs to concentrate on boxing. For the past few years, Wilder has been hyped as the next great American heavyweight, while also receiving criticism for facing weak opponents. He won the WBC belt last January with a unanimous decision victory over Bermane Stiverne, the most accomplished opponent he's fought so far and the only one he hasn't knocked out. A week later, Tuscaloosa's mayor presented Wilder with a key to the city during a parade in his hometown.

His first two title defenses came in Alabama, where Wilder still lives and is among the state's most popular athletes. Despite that title belt, though, Wilder isn't as well known elsewhere, which was a major reason he decided to fight in New York for the first time on Saturday. He held a party in his hotel room last Monday and watched the University of Alabama win the college football national title. The next day, during a training session in Brooklyn, he vowed to continue Alabama's sensational sports week with a victory over Szpilka. He also discussed how he becomes a different person when the bell rings.

"I can be entertaining and exciting," Wilder said. "I can talk. But when I get in the ring, I transform into somebody else. I really want to hurt you. I really want to take your head off. I really want to dismantle your face. I really want to do that. I don't want it to get to the point where you can't support your family, but I want to hurt you real bad."

Wilder did that to Szpilka, but he wasn't completely satisfied. He had less than six weeks to prepare for the fight and struggled at times against Szpilka's awkward and movements. It was the first time Wilder had fought a left-hander since April of 2013. His power carried the day, but Wilder gave himself a "low 5" grade on a scale of 1 to 10.

Still, Wilder ended the fight as he's done so many times before, throwing a right hand that his opponent couldn't get up from. It was another step towards his goal of becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champ since Lewis in 2000. Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, and Alexander Povetkin will all have something to say about that, but Wilder knows what he wants and intends to go get it.

"I felt like I was meant to do this," Wilder said. "Boxing was my calling in my life, my purpose in life. A lot of people look for a lifetime to find a calling and they never do. I found mine."