Deontay Wilder Retains Heavyweight Belt with 8th Round TKO [PHOTOS]
Deontay Wilder overcame a broken hand and torn bicep to defeat Chris Arreola in Birmingham and retain his WBC Heavyweight Championship.
The Tuscaloosa native suffered the injuries sometime around the fourth round and fought the rest of the fight almost exclusively with his left hand. Despite the significant injuries, Wilder said he still wanted to give the fans a knockout.
"Man, it lets me know I'm a force to be reckoned with," Wilder said. "If I have one hand or two hands, you can't deny that I'm the best in the world. I'm going to still give it to you whether I have one hand or two hands. I won't stop. As a champion it's my duty to keep going no matter what I'm going through. Pain ain't nothing to me. I got a high tolerance on pain.
More than 11,000 people cheered on Wilder inside Legacy Arena as he used a destructive jab to bloody and disfigure Arreola's face over eight rounds. The challenger's corner would eventually stop the fight after the thorough pounding.
The victory moves Wilder to 37-0 in his professional career. He'll have to take some time to recover from his injuries, but Wilder said after the fight he wants to keep moving towards the goal of unifying the heavyweight belts.