A single act of violence ended the life of Deontay Wilder’s ‘black sheep’ brother. One strike to the back of the head, and a lifetime of potential was gone.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, gangs rule in the shadows, and a single wrong choice can be fatal. Wilder’s ‘other’ brother (he has another, Marsellos, three years younger and a boxer in his own right) who he has never spoken about before now and has asked us not to name, was intelligent, sharp and full of charm according to the Bronze Bomber. He walked a dangerous path and paid the consequence.
It was just one chapter in the life of a heavyweight champion shaped as much by struggle outside the ropes as by triumph inside them. Fans know him as the former WBC belt holder and once the most feared puncher in the division, but behind the spotlight lies a man who faced the heartbreak of losing his brother at a young age, the impossible choice of whether to terminate his first child, and the sting of betrayal from those closest to him.
‘I still think about my brother to this day,’ Wilder tells Daily Mail Sport, opening up for the first time about a private tragedy as we sat in his hometown ahead of his 50th professional fight, against Derek Chisora at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.
‘My brother was very intelligent. He was very crafty and unique with his words. But he was always in trouble. He was always in jail. He was in a gang as well, and that’s how he lost his life. Someone hit him in the back of the head, and he died instantly.
‘I still remember the moment I was told he had died. That sort of thing doesn’t leave you. I hurt so much inside, but I didn’t shed a tear. I wasn’t going to let anything set me off track from what I wanted to achieve. That was the path he chose. He told me he was the black sheep of the family but I still I don’t know why he made the decisions and choices he did.
‘That said, we all have our own path in life and we have to make our own decisions. Sometimes, when you’re choosing the wrong path, you have to step up and accept whatever consequences come with it. And that’s one thing he did – he accepted it and dealt with it. Even though it cost him his life, he lived the way he wanted. So, I had to accept it too and move on.’
A single act of violence ended the life of Deontay Wilder’s brother and now he’s talking about it for the first time
Daily Mail Sport visited Wilder in camp in Alabama ahead of his fight with Derek Chisora this weekend
And now, years later, we found Wilder back in camp, carrying that same mental fortitude. But this was not the Wilder of flash belts, raucous ring walks and viral highlight reels.
This was a man who had stripped everything back to the beginning, returning to a small, lock-up container gym down a dirt track in Tuscaloosa where his career first took shape. The walls were covered in quotes of his over the years, reminders of triumph, loss, and resilience. One read: ‘I’m back! My body wasn’t here but my mind never left.’
The gym could easily be missed by those not looking for it. From the outside, it is little more than a corrugated steel container on a patch of land that looked abandoned. Step inside, however, and the air is thick with the tang of sweat and leather, punctuated by the rhythmic crack of gloves hitting heavy bags.
Bugs stream through gaps in the walls, giving the place a gritty, unmistakably urban feel. Wilder laughs as he trains, joking that he had to keep his mouth shut to avoid catching a fly mid-breath, while a camp mate adds: ‘Make sure you don’t stand on one, once they’re squished, the smell is brutal.’
Wilder’s routine is relentless. Two sessions a day, every day, each burning more than 2,100 calories. Even after the final bell, his body refuses to stop, the sweat continuing to pour for more than an hour afterwards.
‘I’ve always struggled to put on weight,’ he admits, shrugging at the effort it took to maintain his frame, which gave him the most destructive right hand in the business. ‘But the doctors say I’m incredibly strong for my size. That’s where the power comes from.’
To counteract the furious burn, Wilder drinks multiple protein shakes throughout the day, with one right before bed. Every meal is meticulously prepared by his in-house chef, his auntie, ensuring that even with his punishing schedule, his body gets exactly what it needs.
Wilder does, however, have one way to to clear his mind during camp.
‘I’ve got an underground gun range on my property, I’m so big into guns,’ he says. ‘I built it under my property so I can go and enjoy shooting whenever I like.’ He keeps a compact 380 ACP pistol in his gym bag, whipping it out to show me. In this Deep South heartland, more than half the households own a gun.
The former WBC heavyweight champion of the world meets Chisora in London this Saturday for his 50th professional fight
Wilder opened up about the heartbreak of losing his brother, the impossible choice of whether to terminate his first pregnancy, and the sting of betrayal from those closest to him
Wilder had returned to a small, lock-up container gym down a dirt track in Tuscaloosa where his career first took shape, while training for Chisora
‘This is a gun-carry state, so you might see people walking around with big rifles and s*** like that,’ he continues. ‘Boy do we love our guns here. That’s the difference, y’all (in Britain) are used to knives. We got guns. You don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.’
He even made a playful quip about his rivalry with Simon Jordan, after an explosive interview where the 6ft 7in American stormed off the former Crystal Palace owner’s talkSPORT radio show. ‘That’s why Simon won’t come here,’ says Wilder. ‘He’s scared if he comes. He messed with the wrong one. I’m a grown man. I got more kids than he got membrane.’
Wilder’s greatest challenge came far from any spotlight. At 19, he faced a crossroads that would shape his life. His first daughter, Naieya, was born with spina bifida, a condition where a child’s spine and spinal cord do not close properly during pregnancy, requiring constant medical attention. Medical bills were impossibly high – especially as Wilder had just $18 (£13.50) in his pocket. He could have aborted the child, walked away and chosen a supposedly easier path. He didn’t.
‘When we made the choice to keep her, I felt it was the right decision,’ he says. ‘We could have terminated the pregnancy. I could have gone on with my life, and her mother could have gone on with hers. We were still in college and everything. But in that moment, it just felt right to keep her. And because of that, I felt like God smiled down on me for the decision I made.
‘It was one of the biggest and most important decisions of my life, and to see the results now always gives me a warm feeling. Sometimes it even brings me to tears. I can get very sensitive, depending on the subject and this is one that gets me emotional.’
Naieya is now 21, and was the first of Wilder’s eight children. Choosing to keep her was only the beginning – life became a relentless grind.
‘It was depressing, you know, because I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do – what I had goals and dreams of becoming,’ he says. ‘My whole life had been turned upside down. I was working multiple jobs, including driving a beer truck and waiting tables at Red Lobster and IHOP. There were days when I looked in my wallet and didn’t have any money.
‘But I don’t consider any of my kids mistakes. They’re truly blessings. I always tell my oldest daughter, “Without you, daddy doesn’t know where he would be”. I could say a lot of things, but when it comes down to reality – where would I really be? I can’t say.’
Wilder’s journey has been punctuated by heartbreak and loss. He talks openly about betrayal and theft by from those he trusted, and the dark times when his own resolve was tested – stating it was his issues outside of the ring that lead to his poor performances against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
Wilder did two sessions a day, every day, each burning more than 2,100 calories
Wilder says he’s allowed himself to be selfish, to focus on his own goals and happiness
The Bronze Bomber trying on one of his elaborate ring walk costumes
‘Outside of the ring has been the battle of my life,’ he admits. ‘I suffered major betrayal from my family. If you never felt it, it’s worse than a heartbreak. Especially when people are so close to you… they stole from me.
‘They stole lots of money from me. People I trusted with everything, who I helped and lifted up, turned around and stabbed me in the back. After that, things were never the same anymore. I was uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to expect next week or next month. You can be strong physically, but mentally, that breaks you.
‘You go from thinking you can trust someone with your life, to questioning every move you make. I’ve never felt anything like it. I spent the majority of those camps just trying to get my mind right… it was the lowest I had ever been. I was still thinking about my problems outside the ring while I was in camp. I’m glad that chapter is over.’
Those experiences forced a shift in his mindset. ‘Through my career, I’ve always been selfless, I’ve helped my family, I’ve put people through college, building homes, supporting people beyond belief, often getting nothing back. But I’ve learned the hard way that helping everyone else can sometimes cost you your own peace.’
‘All that being said, I’m still alive, I’m still happy, I still have my joy, and I’m still at peace. I’ve done a lot of therapy and now, I’m choosing to be selfish. I want to do for myself, for me and no one else. That’s why there’s no retirement for me right now – we’re going to enjoy this and have a great time.’
Even with this renewed focus, his ambition remains unshaken. Wilder’s sights are firmly on the heavyweight division, still driven by the goal that has guided him since the start: Unifying the division.
In 2015, he broke an eight-year drought without an American heavyweight champion – the longest barren run in history – and held the WBC belt for five years. But a professional career that began with 43 unbeaten fights has taken a hit since 2020, losing four of his last six including twice to Tyson Fury.
‘(Unifying) is still my mindset to this day,’ says the 40-year-old. ‘I never had the opportunity to do it before, and here I am. I don’t believe in giving up. My heart is in this. At this point, I’m only one or two fights away from achieving that goal. In the heavyweight division, we can fight into our mid-40s or even 50, because we take less damage than smaller fighters.’
Wilder pictured with seven of his eight children – including first-born daughter, Naieya (centre, back row)
Tyson Fury knocks out Wilder to win the last of their trilogy fights, in Las Vegas in 2021
The 6ft 7in 40-year-old still believes he can fulfil his dreams of unifying the heavyweight division
Outside the ring, Wilder’s dreams are expansive. Once retired, he plans to earn his pilot’s license, build a runway on his property, and fly wherever he pleases. His land in Alabama is a sanctuary: a massive lake for water sports, a state-of-the-art boxing facility, the shooting range, and an incredible memorabilia hall filled with his ring walk outfits and championship belt. ‘The only thing I’m missing is a corner shop,’ he jokes.
We went out for dinner after training at his favourite local restaurant. Wilder arrived hugging staff, laughing with the chefs in the kitchen. He spoke fondly of the oyster place next door, though outside of camp his favourite treat is pizza and Pepsi.
But life after retirement – the runway, the lake, the freedom to finally slow down and savour those simple pleasures – cannot be enjoyed just yet. Not until the job at hand is done. Not until he has beaten Chisora.
Because for all the reflection, the pain, the rebuilding and the dreams of what comes next, Deontay Wilder is still, at his core, a fighter chasing something unfinished. And until that final chapter is written, the past, the present, and everything he has endured continues to drive him forward – one more fight, one more night, one more chance to prove that his story isn’t over just yet.
