Deontay Wilder the best African-American fighter?
Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr., Shawn Porter and a few others might have something to say about that notion. But, as Wilder said, you gotta believe in yourself.
Wilder is scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Tyson Fury in a rematch on Feb. 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Fox/ESPN pay-per-view.
“In my opinion, I will say yes. It’s me,” Wilder told BoxingScene.com, referring to the No. 1 position among African-Americans. “I believe in myself, strongly. While I’m in the heavyweight champion of the world, I display this to people. I lead by example. … This is going to be an amazing time for me because it’s Black History Month. After this fight with Fury, I’m going to make him a Black History trivia question.
“This fight means so much to me. I’m appreciative of the opposition in front of me. I’m big on my people, as everyone should be for theirs. You have to love your own.”
Wilder went on: “If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you allow anyone else … if you don’t believe things are real, how can you have the motivation to do anything? … We get discouraged in our own self because we worry about what others will say. How do you know? Who are you to say it? I’m going to do what my capabilities are. Have you put in the work? Have you sacrificed?
“We get discouraged as people because of our peers’ opinions. When you get involved with other people’s opinions, then you are going to stray from the game plan. … Many people will say respect is earned, and I’ve done my fair share of earning that.”