[MMA NEWS ARCHIVES]
Last week, Deontay Wilder would lose to Tyson Fury for the second time. With Fury winning two of their three bouts (many arguing all three), Wilder came out as the undisputed loser of the trilogy. But as a former boxing world champion, he no doubt has some notable wins on his résumé, including an ESPN mascot. Here’s a look back at a story published three years ago on this day, in its unaltered form.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 16, 2018, 2:03 PM]
Deontay Wilder is set to defend his WBC heavyweight title against Tyson Fury. The heavyweight greats will collide on December 1st in Los Angeles. Wilder was recently a guest on Nacion ESPN to promote the upcoming fight. During the appearance, the hosts had Wilder hit a dummy to show off his power.
They then took things a step further. The heavyweight champion was asked to hit their mascot. One of the hosts told Wilder to hit him in either the head or stomach. Wilder then uncorked a huge right-hand to the mascot’s head. He fell down and the segment ended soon afterward.
Soon after this aired, there were rumors swirling around that the person dressed as the mascot was injured. Wilder took to Instagram to apologize and even invited the man to his fight in December. Here’s what he had to say:
“Yea, Anything headlining I didn’t know a “Human Being” was in there is just straight “Click Baiting”
like come on now, I guess the Mascot rolled out there. show so respect! I sincerely apologize to the brave man that was injured (if this is true) I have the up most high respect for him, his participation, willingness and courage. If this is true @nacionespn I personally would like to invite him to my Dec.1 fight. Word Is Bond -CHAMP”
Check out the video of Wilder hitting the mascot here:
What do you think about Wilder apologizing for hitting the ESPN mascot?
