Deontay Wilder said he has the power to kill a man before heavyweight bout with Tyson Fury
WBC World Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder fears his own power as the American prepares to face Tyson Fury in Los Angeles.
Every time he goes through the ropes, he considers the fact he possesses the power to kill his opponent.
For each fight, he leaves behind his day-to-day persona, the doting dad and devout Christian, to become the feared Bronze Bomber.
He slides a mask over his face to go to work, to try to render his rival unconscious.
Next Saturday at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, he will try to make Brit Tyson Fury another statistic, another notch on his rifle of a right arm — and the prospect scares him.
“When my mind transforms it is a scary feeling because it is a source of power that takes over and allows me to feel like I know I can kill a man,” WBC world heavyweight champion Wilder, 33, said.
“People have a problem with me saying it because I can do so. People have a problem, because I do possess the power to do it.
“When I have a feeling come over me, I don’t know the strength of my own power. It’s unexplainable.
“The week of the fight is when I start to transform, it just takes hold, especially the day of the fight. I’m no longer myself, nothing is funny, everything is serious.”
Every time he goes through the ropes, he considers the fact he possesses the power to kill his opponent.
For each fight, he leaves behind his day-to-day persona, the doting dad and devout Christian, to become the feared Bronze Bomber.
He slides a mask over his face to go to work, to try to render his rival unconscious.
Next Saturday at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, he will try to make Brit Tyson Fury another statistic, another notch on his rifle of a right arm — and the prospect scares him.
“When my mind transforms it is a scary feeling because it is a source of power that takes over and allows me to feel like I know I can kill a man,” WBC world heavyweight champion Wilder, 33, said.
“People have a problem with me saying it because I can do so. People have a problem, because I do possess the power to do it.
“When I have a feeling come over me, I don’t know the strength of my own power. It’s unexplainable.
“The week of the fight is when I start to transform, it just takes hold, especially the day of the fight. I’m no longer myself, nothing is funny, everything is serious.”
Bermane Stiverne became the only man to take Wilder the distance when the Canadian lost a unanimous decision in 2015.
His reward was a savage first-round knockout when they met again two years later.
Wilder, with his giant wingspan and skinny legs, looks ungainly.
But his one-punch power is among the most terrifying threats in the sport.
And he makes no secret of his urgency to beat men as soon as possible, once he is in savage mode.
“A fighter is not going to stay in the ring with me if I don’t want them to. I have a killer instinct that is crazy,” Wilder said.
“If you are hurt and wounded, you are going to get out of there. I don’t get paid for overtime, so why sit around? Why wait?
“I like to get a knockout, the heavyweight division is based on power.
“I like to give the people what they want to see, a devastating knockout, and I deliver that each and every time.”
Despite his undefeated 40-0 record, which includes 39 knockouts, the American is still not a household name in his own country.
Even in his home town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, some locals look puzzled when you mention him.
