Wilder breaks hand, out for two months

TUSCALOOSA | Heavyweight boxer Deontay Wilder broke two bones in his right hand while winning his seventh straight professional fight on Friday in Tucson, Ariz.

Wilder scored a technical knockout against Travis Allen with 1:30 remaining in the first round. Wilder went to a local hospital for x-rays and was fitted with a soft cast for Saturday's trip home to Tuscaloosa.
Jay Deas, Wilder's coach, said the breaks were a half-inch behind the little finger and ring finger.


Wilder plans to continue his training at Skyy Boxing under the direction of Deas and Mark Breland, but a bout scheduled for Sept. 5 in Cincinnati has been canceled.


'The disappointing part is not being able to fight, which is something I've grown to love to do,' Wilder said. 'Things happen in a sport like this or any sport where you're dealing with physical contact. We just have to deal with the consequences and make the best of it until we're back on our feet.'
Wilder said the breaks occurred on his last punch, which caught Allen in the head.


'What if I held off on that punch?' Wilder said. 'But it was already in the process of being thrown. You can't do anything about it.'
Wilder, a powerful puncher with his right hand, wants to continue to work to develop his left jab. The 6-foot-7 Wilder said that when he played basketball he learned how to dunk with his left hand after breaking the little finger on his right hand.


'We looking at it as an opportunity that will allow me to spend more time with the jab and take it and learn something from it,' Wilder said. 'You always want to make a good jab. I'm optimistic about the situation. I know my power's not going to go anywhere.'


Deas said Wilder might be ready to fight again in six to eight weeks.
'They told us (at the hospital) to get with a hand specialist, and that's what we're going to be doing,' Deas said. 'Obviously, you hate it for him because he was in such great shape, and everything was coming together so well. We were starting to see what we were doing in the gym come into play in the ring.'


Wilder is scheduled to meet his fans at Wilhagans Sports Grille on Saturday. The event begins at 6 p.m. and will benefit the Kid Gloves youth boxing program.


Wilder breaks hand, sidelined for two months | TuscaloosaNews.com | The Tuscaloosa News | Tuscaloosa, AL

bummer, he is really trying to get a lot of fights in. I hope his hand heals ok. I'm glad he's going to use it as an opportunity to learn the jab better, he really needs to.

That sucks. I hope it heals quickly and maybe fight another type of tune-up than maybe step it up a bit. I mean someone who can take a punch or two.

The downtime might do him well,just hope the hand heals and not a prob in future.

I'm betting that even with his arm in a sling and his boot laces tied together...he could still dispose of the cupcakes he's been put in with.