Deontay Wilder is an American professional boxer who has held the WBC heavyweight title since 2015. He is one of the two heavyweight champions of the world, along with Tyson Fury.
Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on October 22, 1985
Deontay Leshun Wilder (born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He has held the WBC heavyweight title since 2015, and in doing so became the first American world heavyweight champion in nine years, which was the longest period of time in boxing history without an American heavyweight champion.
Amateur Career
Wilder started his amateur career in 2005 and compiled a record of 30–6. He won the National Golden Gloves tournament in 2009 after defeating Quantis Graves in the final.
He then went on to represent the U.S. at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships, where he reached the quarter-final stage before losing to Ukraine’s Oleksiy Mazikin.
Professional Career
Wilder made his professional debut on November 15, 2008, against Ethan Cox. He won the fight by first-round knockout (KO). As of November 2019, he has fought 43 times and has a perfect record of 42 wins (41 KOs) and one draw. His first 31 fights all ended in a KO/TKO. Of his 41 KO victories, 32 have come in the first round. He is one of only four heavyweight boxers in history to have a 100% knockout-to-win ratio, along with Rocky Marciano, Vladimir Klitschko, and Anthony Joshua.
Wilder’s 32 first-round KO victories are a heavyweight record. He is also the second boxer in any weight class to stop all of his opponents within four rounds (the other being Mike Tyson). In June 2015, Wilder knocked out Eric Molina in the ninth round to win his first world title, the vacant WBC heavyweight championship. Wilder then made five consecutive successful title defenses between 2015 and 2019.
Tyson Fury
Tyson Fury (born August 3, 1988) is a British professional boxer. He has held the WBC and The Ring magazine heavyweight titles since defeating Deontay Wilder in February 2020.
Early Life and Amateur Career
Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is a British professional boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight world champion, having won the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles in 2015. He is ranked as the world’s best active heavyweight by The Ring magazine, BoxRec, and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB), and second by ESPN. He has also been ranked as the United Kingdom’s and Europe’s best heavyweight by BoxRec twice.
Fury was born and raised in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, one of four children of John and Amber Fury. His paternal grandfather was from Tuam, County Galway: his great-grandfather Peter Fury recognises his Irish roots. The Furys are of Irish Traveller heritage.
Fury had a successful amateur career whence he represented both England and Ireland after sparring partners were scarce on his travels with the travelling community; winning 40 of his 44 bouts along with 32 via KO/TKO.
Professional Career
Fury turned professional in December 2008, with his first fight coming against Hungarian boxer Bela Gyongyosi, whom he knocked out in the second round. He had a total of 12 fights in 2008, winning all by knockout.
Fury’s first high-profile fight was against John McDermott for the English heavyweight title in 2009. Fury won the bout when McDermott’s corner threw in the towel during the ninth round.
In 2010, Fury fought Dereck Chisora for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles. Fury won by unanimous decision with scores of 118–110, 119–109, and 120–108.
After wins against Nicolai Firtha and Chisora again in 2011, Fury faced Martin Rogan for the Irish heavyweight title in 2012. He won via fifth-round technical knockout (TKO).
Fury’s next few fights were again against journeyman opponents before he faced then-undefeated domestic rival David Haye in September 2013. Haye was forced to pull out of the fight due to a cut above his eye that required stitches, and Fury instead faced replacement opponent Nicolai Firtha. He won by TKO after five rounds. The Haye fight was rescheduled for early 2014, but Haye again pulled out injured (this time with a shoulder injury). Facing another replacement opponent, Sergey Kazakov, Fury won by seventh-round TKO after dominating the bout from start to finish.
The much-anticipated fight between Fury and Haye finally took place in early 2015, with Fury winning via eleventh-round knockout (KO) to become the WBA (Regular) heavyweight champion. This made him only the third heavyweight champion from Britain after Lennox Lewis and David Haye himself.
Who is the Heavyweight Champion of the World in Boxing
The answer to that question is Anthony Joshua. He is a British professional boxer who is also a two-time unified world champion. He stands at an imposing 6’6″ and has an undefeated record of 24-1-0.
Early Life
Anthony Joshua was born on 15 October 1989 in Watford, Hertfordshire, the son of Nigerian mother Yeta and British father Robert Joshua. Joshua’s Nigerian background has led to a large black British fan-base, with particular support coming from London and the Home counties. Joshua grew up for some of his early years in Nigeria as a missionary helper and attended Imani Primary School in Sagamu, Lagos State. His return to the UK coincided with a boxing talent assessment test in Birmingham, organised by coach Tony Simon. Simon required that Joshua win three fights in order to earn membership to his boxing gym. He lost his first bout against fellow Englishman Emanuele Leo but recovered from this by winning his next four matches on a string, including wins over Dorian Darch and Francisco Tavares, who were both previously undefeated as prospects.
Amateur Career
Anthony Joshua represented England at the 2011 World Championships as an amateur, winning a silver medal. In the same year he won the gold medal at the European Amateur Boxing Championships in the super-heavyweight division.
He entered the 2012 Olympic Games as a heavyweight favourite and did not disappoint, claiming gold with a unanimous points decision victory over Roberto Cammarelle of Italy in the final.
Professional Career
Anthony Joshua MBE is a British professional boxer. He is currently a unified heavyweight champion, holding three of the four major championships in boxing: the IBF title since 2016, the WBA (Super) title since 2017, and the WBO title since 2018. He also holds the IBO and Ring magazine titles. As of December 2019, Joshua is ranked as the world’s second best active heavyweight by The Ring magazine and third by BoxRec.