By: Hans Themistode
Earlier this year, the boxing world stood back and watched Deontay Wilder take hard shot after hard shot at the hands of Tyson Fury which resulted in repeated trips to the canvas.
Possessing what many believe is the hardest right hand in boxing history, both fans of Wilder and his trainer in Jay Deas believed that their man would land a miracle shot to change things on the night. Yet with each passing round, things only got worse.
Wilder has always prided himself on being a warrior and appeared ready to go out on his shield until co-trainer Mark Breland mercifully threw in the towel.
The moment that white flag of surrender hit the deck, it not only truncated Wilder’s five year title reign but it also left Breland out of a job.
The split between Wilder and Breland was made official a few days ago. Now, he’ll move forward with only head man Jay Deas in his corner. A decision he believes is a sagacious one. For heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte on the other hand, Wilder is a flat out idiot.
“I think it’s the worst mistake he’s ever made. Mark Breland is the only person in his team that actually was a boxer and actually was a world champion. He was the only person that didn’t care about money or fame. Someone who was actually from an emotional point. Someone who understands, thinking about his health and did the right thing by throwing the towel in. He could have got seriously hurt.”
Wilder has always claimed to be fine throughout a beating that lasted seven rounds and resulted in perforated eardrums along with other medical issues.
But as Whyte watched him stumble across the ring and seemingly fall over his own two feet on several occasions, he believed Wilder was a beaten fighter. Those sentiments he suspects, were shared by the one person in his corner who didn’t just stand idly by and watch him take a beating of a lifetime.
“He was getting hit with punches that weren’t knocking him out, they were concussing him. Mark Breland knows what it’s like, because Mark Breland has been in the same position Wilder was in. He’s someone that cares about the athlete and the boxing side of things. Not just ‘Bomb Squad’, nonsense. He doesn’t care about that. He’s the only one in the team, you don’t see him running around and shouting and screaming. He’s just a little quiet guy, does his job.”
“Deontay Wilder is an idiot, he clearly can’t see it. Good luck to him, it’s his team, he can do whatever he wants. But I think it’s a bad mistake. Mark Breland is the only one that knows boxing in his team.”