When Deontay Wilder predicted he would easily touch Floyd Mayweather's 50-0 - "I am a knockout artist"

Deontay Wilder (left, @bronzebomber), Floyd Mayweather (right, @floydmayweather) [images courtesy of Instagram]

Prior to his defeats by 'The Gypsy King,' Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder once stated he could easily reach Floyd Mayweather's record of 50-0. As reported by WBN, he said:

"Once I unify all the titles, then line up the mandatories, I'll easily get to 50-0. I'm not a 12 round fighter. I don't get overtime. I'm a knockout artist. So that being said, I don't take much damage, but I give all the damage."

Before his Fury defeats, Wilder was a force to be reconned with in the heavyweight division. He is known for sending opponents through the ropes with the power of his punches, a quality that hasn't been seen in a fighter since the likes of the widely-feared 'Iron' Mike Tyson.

Now sitting at a record of 42-2, with 41 KOs, the knockout artist is planning a return to the boxing ring. After a layoff from his second defeat to Tyson, Tuscaloosanews confirmed with Wilder that he plans to return, but doesn't have a date or an opponent in mind. Wilder stated:

"I'm looking to resume my career for sure. I sacrificed so much to be in this position in my life, to be able to live my life like I want for the rest of my life. I apologize to my family if it's an inconvenience, but the world needs me. And I must go back to the call of duty at this moment in time."

So while Deontay Wilder won't be able to reach Floyd Mayweather's undefeated 50-0 record, he is planning to make his highly anticipated return to the ring.

Wilder posted this video of the unveiling of his statue in his hometown:

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Deontay Wilder gifted statue in hometown

The Tuscaloosa native, Deontay 'The Bronze Bomber' Wilder, was gifted a statue at the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk. Despite his two losses to Fury, his hometown commemorated the boxer's amazing achievements with a bronze statue of him.

A Tweet by WVTM13 showed the moment Wilder got to unveil the statue. He was seen embracing the figure and inspecting the details of his face and hair with excitement. A large crowd had formed to watch the unveiling and the boxer get to see himself immortalized in his hometown history.

Fans of Deontay Wilder's can now anticipate his return to the ring, hopefully within the next year.

Deontay Wilder getting to know his new statue in Tuscaloosa @BronzeBomber @tuscaloosacity https://t.co/xoMEdrJxJB