Deontay Wilder contests his first official knockdown despite many believing it was the second of his career against Harold Sconiers.
Wilder claims he was dropped by an illegal blow when he was down for what many believe was a follow-up to Dustin Nichols. The former world heavyweight champion shrugged off his first-ever bonafide and counted knockdown as a rabbit punch that did little to halt his progress.
However, the man who delivered that blow refutes those claims to an extent as doubts remain over whether Wilder was down longer than ten seconds or saved only by the bell. Footage of the fight has mysteriously disappeared in the aftermath.
Sconiers fought Wilder in 2010. After being dropped himself, Sconiers unleashed an almighty swing to put “The Bronze Bomber” down for the first time in his career. Many also say that Nichols put Wilder down. Therefore, Sconiers could have been the second.
In addition, Sconiers was a 20-loss journeyman at the time. And when asked about it later in his career as a world champion, Wilder denied it was a clean shot.
“Early in my career, I got dropped,” Wilder told The Opening Kickoff on WNSP-FM 105.5. “I got a rabbit punch in the back of the neck. When the punch happened instantly, my neck started to swell. There was a knot back there. It was a blackout-type of feeling.
“By the time I got back up, the ref was in my face. I was like, “What’s going on?'”
Speaking about the Fantasy Springs clash, Sconiers was disappointed with Wilder but tried to back up his knockdown despite not being totally sure. Although his memory of the incident faded, Sconiers still believes he merited dropping Wilder.
“Of course, I can’t say for sure [it was a rabbit punch] now,” Sconiers admitted to SportBible. “That was definitely not my intention. I, you know, in my heart, I believe it was a clean shot. But as I said, I had my head basically down. I was dipping into the punch.
“So I didn’t even see the shot when it landed. Is it possible that it could have been a rabbit punch? It’s possible. You know, because he was leaning into it. I was coming over the top, but at the same time, there was a lot of incentive for them to say that, even if it wasn’t.
“So, I’m not gonna attack anyone’s character and say they’re lying.”
On why Deontay Wilder might have aired his rabbit punch view, Sconiers concluded: “There’s a lot of things at play because that’s how they saw it afterward.
“People’s minds kind of twist [or] turn things the way they wanna see it or the way that makes sense for them. But I don’t think I hit him with a rabbit punch. Yet I can’t dispute it one hundred percent.”
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
