Former Mike Tyson trainer Teddy Atlas has compared Deontay Wilder to a ‘spoilt brat’ insisting the American heavyweight must learn to deal with not getting his own way.
Wilder was well beaten against Tyson Fury last month but will seek revenge when the two meet for another rematch this summer. However, pundit, commentator and boxing trainer Atlas believes Wilder is a "bully" too used to things going his way.
Speaking to SiriusXM Boxing this week, the 63-year-old was asked if the defeat to Wilder would see him lose his air of invincibility in a similar way to Mike Tyson more than 20 years ago and was unequivocal in his response.
“Yeah, it has changed, it’s real,” he said of his unbeatable aura after taking a beating at the hands of Fury. “If you want to call it the pink elephant in the room, it’s there, it’s the truth, you do get changed. Deontay even more explicitly.”
Known as one of the biggest hitters in boxing, Wilder can’t solely rely on his power, Atlas insists and even went as far as comparing his attitude to that of a bully.
“He’s been exposed as the guy who technically doesn’t have a fight, but he can punch. He’s had that and it’s pulled him out of the fire many times but this time, he also showed, bringing up Tyson, I think there’s some relevance to that, he showed that he’s a bully.”
“I’m not here to knock Deontay Wilder and I’m not trying to be one of these haters or mean spirited but I’m just talking about it’s almost inherent that a puncher would be partly a bully because they get their way all of the time.
“It’s kind of like being a spoiled brat. They’re used to always getting their way. They have the gift but there’s never an argument with a puncher. They always get their way but this time he didn’t get his way.”
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While Wilder’s main attribute is his ability to sucker punch opponents, Atlas is adamant he would do better by dealing with conflict better.
“He’s got to learn how to deal with an argument. He’s never been in an argument before, never! He’s got to learn to throw straight punches, he’s got to learn to keep his balance, he’s got to learn to move his head, forget that, because he’s probably not going to learn that.
“The one thing he really has to get a grasp on is to be able to stand up to somebody but he doesn’t get his way.”
Following defeat by Fury, Wilder was quick to blame his walk-on outfit.
"My uniform was way too heavy for me,” he told Yahoo Sports. “It weighed 40 pounds with the helmet and all the batteries. I wanted my tribute to be great for Black History Month … and I guess I put that before anything.”
