Deontay Wilder Was Left With 'Very Wobbly Legs' After Only Professional Knockdown Of His Career

Harold Sconiers is the only man in history to have cleanly knocked down feared power puncher Deontay Wilder in a professional boxing bout.

Wilder, 34, held a record of 12-0 going into the fight in 2010 and had knocked out all of his previous opponents.

The 'Bronze Bomber' dropped Sconiers twice in the first round and looked en route to making quick work of his opponent.

But Wilder was in for a shock when Sconiers managed to send him crashing to the canvas in their fight at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.

The WBC champ, to his credit, regained his mojo and went on to secure a fourth-round TKO victory on the night.

A photo of Wilder on the floor with his back against the ropes remains, but footage from the fight has essentially been scrubbed from online.

Twitter

One fan posted on World Boxing Forum what Ring Magazine editor-in-chief Douglass Fischer said about the fight.

According to the post, Fischer claimed that Wilder "dropped Sconiers and then Sconiers dropped him."

Fischer explained: "I was at the Sconiers fight (which took place at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, [California], in October of 2010, it was on the undercard of an Eloy Perez fight).

"I can tell anyone who wasn't there that Wilder was not only dropped hard by the journeyman (it was the second round, if memory serves me -- he dropped Sconiers and then Sconiers dropped him), he got up on VERY wobbly legs, but he survived."

PA

Wilder later confirmed that he was dropped in the fight against Sconiers, but he claimed that he was hit with a "rabbit punch."

The American star told WNSP Sports Radio 105.5 FM in 2017: "Early in my career, I got dropped. 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 and I was like, 'what's going on?'"

Wilder's trainer, Jay Deas, also confirmed that Sconiers put his fighter to the canvas in their 2010 fight.

The 'Bronze Bomber' was previously KO'd by Russian boxer Evgeny Romanov when he fought him in an amateur fight back in 2008.

And other claims have been made that boxing legend Wladimir Klitschko knocked Wilder out in sparring, though the WBC kingpin has since fired back at those claims.

Topics: Bronze Bomber, Boxing News, Boxing, Deontay Wilder

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9