Wilder: Klitschko Needed to be Humbled; Losing Inspired Him

By Keith Idec

Deontay Wilder sensed overconfidence from Wladimir Klitschko as he continued dominating the heavyweight division for nearly 10 years.

That’s why Wilder considered Klitschko’s loss to Tyson Fury as a blessing in disguise for the former champion. Things had gotten too easy for the hard-hitting Ukrainian, and according to Wilder, the only thing that could break Klitschko out of his complacent state was a sobering reminder of what it’s like to lose.

Klitschko had won 22 straight fights before Fury upset him nearly 17 months ago. Prior to that defeat, he hadn’t lost since Lamon Brewster beat him by fifth-round technical knockout in their April 2004 title fight in Las Vegas.

“He needed that loss to Tyson Fury because he forgot to be humble,” Wilder said during a conference call Monday. “He forgot about that. When you’re winning for over a decade, you feel invincible a little bit. But he was a gentleman with it, though. He wanted to be rude, but be polite with it, if that makes sense. I see what he was doing.”

Wilder will provide analysis for Sky Sports’ coverage of the Joshua-Klitschko fight this week. The unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion hopes to face the winner of their fight Saturday in London, where a sellout crowd of roughly 90,000 is expected at Wembley Stadium.

While Wilder is intrigued by a fight against England’s Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs), he thinks Klitschko’s upset defeat to Fury in November 2015 has inspired the ex-champion. The 41-year-old Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs) is a 2-1 underdog, though, and hasn’t fought in the 17 months since Fury defeated him in Dusseldorf, Germany.

That has given Klitschko plenty of time to reflect on how important it is for him to regain the IBF, IBO and WBA titles he lost to Fury (25-0, 18 KOs).

“I see by him losing, it crushed him,” Wilder said. “It took him all the way back down. And now he’s rebuilding himself. He’s got that hunger back. He’s inspired. So we’ll see. At the end of the day, all that matters is what happens on the night of that fight. If he can come with another Tyson Fury [performance], talking about that height and weight. Or he can bring that Klitschko out that we always see, with the jabs, and setting up for the right hand, what Emanuel [Steward] taught him. You know, so we’ll see what happens.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.