Wilder talks tough, targets showdown with Joshua

Deontay Wilder is warming up for one of his final sessions ahead of this weekend when he stops to pretend he’s waving goodbye.

“Like a Queen does,” he said, as he pretended to gesture to a crowd as royalty would as they pass in a cortege. Wilder, 38, contemplates about what could happen if he loses against veteran Chinese star Zhilei Zhang in Riyadh tomorrow night.

“This is the be-all and end-all fight,” the American said. “Whoever wins this one, they go forward and the loser goes back to the lab to pick up the pieces and has to decide whether or not to retire.

“I’ve been very successful inside and outside of the ring. If all things go wrong, I could be holding my hand up like the Queen and saying farewell.

“The only sad thing is for the fans. The saying is you only miss what you don’t have when it is gone. Unfortunately, that would be me.

“I keep the heavyweight division exciting and, to not have me, I think it would be boring. I’m looking forward to the win, it’s not time for me to retire just yet.”

But as he stretches out at a gym in the sweltering centre of the Saudi capital, he soon switches back into his motivation – to be the heavyweight king. “Being in this fight is so important to me, it brings the fuel to the fire,” he added.

“It makes me work harder to do more. That’s why I became a gym rat and show them who the real Deontay Wilder is. To be a true warrior, to be the true king you have to have the mentality that you’re the best.

“I want to be the king again. I want the chance to be an undisputed champion. I feel like that got robbed from me many times.”

I had no dancing partner who wanted to give me the opportunity. I’m still here trying to pick up the pieces and hopefully, I can get to that point where I’m the