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Deontay Wilder's punching power is a menace for any boxer,David Haye himself has been on the receiving end of it on few occasions having sparred with the Bronze Bomber previously.
Wilder has 42 knockouts in 43 victories, establishing himself as one of the most lethal hitters of all time. And Haye, a former world champion, can attest to that, even if he was wearing larger 18oz sparring gloves with headguards on.
Before his proposed fight with Tyson Fury, which he later canceled, the Brit hired Wilder as a sparring partner. Even after all these years, Haye remembers how hard the Bronze Bomber hits.
Haye told BT Sport: “I truly think he is the hardest punching heavyweight ever, I know that maybe sounds like an exaggeration.
"I got hit by Wilder in sparring. I’ve been hit by Wladimir Klitschko, on the chin with 10 ounce gloves on.
"There was more effect from Wilder hitting me on the top of the head, with 18 ounce gloves on and I was wearing a head guard – and it wasn’t even clean.
"After that, I remember thinking, ‘This guy is going to do something.’ He was wild and he was all over the place. . . but the power.”
Haye, now 42, stepped away from the fight with Fury after suffering a cut in sparring and a shoulder injury that necessitated surgery. Fury, 34, went on to fight Wilder, 37, three times in the years since, drawing one and winning the subsequent rematches.
He will now face Oleksandr Usyk, 35, in the heavyweight division's first four-belt unification fight.
Wilder, 38, knocked out Robert Helenius in round one of his October return after suffering consecutive defeats to Fury.