Deontay Wilder speaks to the media ahead of his upcoming fight against Joseph Parker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Getty Images
Deontay Wilder speaks to the media ahead of his upcoming fight against Joseph Parker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Getty Images
Deontay Wilder has boxed just one competitive round in 26 months since his epic trilogy world title contest with Tyson Fury in Las Vegas, but the most devastating knockout artist in the history of the division has not been idle. Instead, he has been working on self-improvement through psychedelic medicines in a certified centre in Costa Rica.
Wilder told Telegraph Sport that the ayahuasca retreat has made him “one of the happiest men alive” and “more sensitive”, yet that has not stopped the 6ft 7ins American from proclaiming this week that he is “training to be a killer and it’s a feeling that I enjoy”.
The ‘Bronze Bomber’ is preparing for his Saudi Arabian debut facing another former world champion, Joseph Parker, on the Day of Reckoning card in Riyadh this coming weekend. These two former champions are among 10 of the top 15 heavyweights in the world on a card which also includes Anthony Joshua, who faces New York-based Swede Otto Wallin.
But Wilder, who will step into this lucrative new heavyweight world in Saudi Arabia, does so after spending time in Rythmia, a high-end retreat in Costa Rica.
“Ah man, ayahuasca has been... man it’s been one of the top things in my life that I’m glad that I’ve experienced,” Wilder said. “One of the best journeys to experience, it’s been a beautiful thing for me and if you ask my wife [Telli Swift, a reality television star and perfume designer] she’ll say that it made me more sensitive, and she’s probably right, but it also made me happier as well.”
His disclosure that an ayahuasca psychedelic drug programme at a luxury plant medicine centre has changed him belies the ambition the 38-year-old still has to meet Joshua, and even mixed martial arts fighter Francis Ngannou, in combat. The Rythmia Ayahuasca Retreat Center describes itself as one of the first legal, medically-licensed Plant Medicine retreat centres in the world, and in spite of a first-round knockout of Robert Hellenius, a recent Joshua victim, being his only boxing in just over two years, Wilder sounds on top of his game.
Wilder is not alone, by the way, in delving into the psychedelic world of self-discovery. Boxing legend Mike Tyson, ice hockey player Daniel Carcillo and UFC fighter Ian McCall have also taken part in similar programmes.
Wilder added: “I find myself appreciating even the smallest of the smallest things – and not saying that I didn’t before – but the appreciation level has increased. Ayahuasca has done some beautiful things for a lot of individuals, not only just including myself, where they brought affirmation to their life, or some type of understanding of the path that they are running in their life. I’m looking forward to doing it many, many more times. I’m actually looking to do it after this fight as well.”
Wilder, who explained that it was done through drinking herbal medicines at the retreat in Costa Rica, added: “Sometimes people get very fearful and afraid of certain things, how is it or what it’s going to be like... but in this place, you may not see what you want, you may not get what you want, but you’ll leave with what you need.
“They made the medicine on site, the DMT (Dimenthyltryptamine), and it was just a beautiful experience. I highly recommend everyone to try it out, I really do, it really has helped me in my life. I am one of the happiest people I know in life, and God is good.”
It is important at this point to point out that while ayahuasca itself is not specifically outlawed in the United Kingdom, the production of any plant or substance containing DMT is a Class A offence, therefore preventing its use this side of the Atlantic.
The focus now, for Wilder, has shifted on to Parker, and another victory. “My main thing is to have a great performance and a devastating knockout,” explained Wilder, who has 42 KOs from his 43 career victories.
Deontay Wilder (left) and Joseph Parker during a press conference at OVO Arena, Wembley, London. Photo / Getty Images
“Parker should be worried, anybody that faces me should be worried, I always say women lie, men lie, but numbers don’t lie, you know, I am the hardest punching boxer in history. Every guy I’ve faced I’ve either knocked them out or put him on the canvas so I’m very dangerous and he should be aware of that. I have a blessing in my right hand, so here we are again, another time, another place, and another date, so may the best man win when it comes to the day of reckoning on Dec 23.
“I’m just looking to put on a great performance for the fans for my debut in Saudi Arabia. That’s it, no more, no less, I’m just looking for a devastating knockout and an amazing fight.”
Wilder has visualised the finish time and again. “I don’t think this is going to be a long drawn out fight, if you ask me, I think it’s going to be over with before you know it, I’m the type of fighter that you’re sat on the edge of your seat, because you don’t know what’s going to happen but when it happens bam, and that’s the thing that everyone knows me as, you’ve got to be ready when Wilder fights, you can’t go to the bathroom, can’t go get nothing to eat, you can’t turn your head and talk to your neighbour because at any given moment, it could be over.”
The long lay-off, argued Wilder, is irrelevant. “I always tell people my body hasn’t been there but my mind never left, and although I haven’t been in the ring a great deal, I’ve been in the gym, I’ve been training. I’m ready more so than ever, and Dec 23 is going to tell its own story, I can say whatever I want, he can say whatever he wants, but Dec 23rd is going to tell its own story.”
With victory, Wilder wants Joshua next as long as he beats Wallin. “I see Joshua winning the fight, if his mind is in the right place, if he comes in there with self-confidence and the will to win, I see him winning that fight, but if he goes in there thinking about what’s next, especially when it’s pertaining to me, or any other thing outside of that, then he might find himself in some big trouble. Hopefully everything serves its purpose and we both win, and we then make business happen together next year.”
There has been talk, moreover, of a Wilder-Ngannou fight next year. “It’s going to be one or the other. But what I know for sure is that I have Joshua or Ngannou next year, so the future is bright and I’m looking forward to whoever I get in the ring with both of them or just one of them. But I’m grateful for it all.”
