Deontay Wilder reveals the scariest knockouts of his career: "I thought I took his life"

Former boxing champion Deontay Wilder has revealed two of the scariest knockouts of his career.

“The Bronze Bomber” Wilder has finished his opponents in 41 out of 42 wins, frequently in the first round. Thanks to the devastating power in his fists, the boxing star has delivered some of the sport’s most brutal finishes, but there is one knockout in particular that has always stuck with him.

“I always think about this when they talk about what’s the best knockout I’ve had — it still lingers,” Wilder told Insider. “Artur Szpilka, when I hit him, I thought I took his life.

A devastating right hook in the ninth round knocked Szpilka out could in their 2016 bout. For a moment, Wilder believed he had killed his opponent, but fortunately the Polish boxer soon recovered from the finish.

Yet another brutal knockout on Wilder’s record came in 2013, when he finished Siarhei Liakhovich in the first round. Immediately after the fact, Wilder could be seen celebrating the win, however as he saw his opponent’s twitching he realised something was amiss. Liakhovich suffered from a concussion and would later overnight at a hospital before being released. Wilder reveals that he prayed for his opponent after the stoppage, earnestly hoping that he hadn’t just sent the man to an early grave.

📅ON THIS DAY: Wilder blows away Liakhovich💥

⏪Back in 2013 @BronzeBomber showed his devastating power again as he stopped former world champ Siarhei Liakhovich in one round 🤜💣 pic.twitter.com/LmQlo0zI6f

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 9, 2021

Wilder has previously claimed that he hopes to “catch a body” in the squared circle. He would later explain the comment by explaining that there are two sides to his personality: “The Bronze Bomber, and Deontay Wilder the person.

“I always tell people, when I’m in the ring … everything about me changes. I don’t get nervous. I don’t get scared. I don’t get butterflies. I don’t have no feelings towards the man I’m gonna fight.”

Today, the boxer’s perspective on the matter has shifted somewhat. A trio of tough fights against “The Gypsy King” Tyson Fury might have had something to do with the change of mind.

“Fighters will risk our lives for others’ entertainment. And there’s no way around it because when we step into that square ring that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

“People look at this business, and they want to (put) ‘sport’ in front of it and think it’s something pretty and nice. It’s the total opposite. It’s a monster.”