Deontay Wilder returned with a thudding KO over Robert Helenius. Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images

Deontay Wilder broke down in tears after scoring vicious KO in first fight after Tyson Fury trilogy

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Donagh Corby | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 3:45 PM ET

Deontay Wilder’s first win after coming back from his defeats to Tyson Fury was so brutal that he brought himself to tears.

The former WBC heavyweight champion launched a planned comeback by brutally stopping Robert Helenius in the first round of their showdown. The giant Finnish fighter had been on an impressive run, stopping the momentum of Adam Kownacki not once but twice.

However, Wilder left him flopping on the canvas and requiring medical attention, which ultimately made the American quite emotional. After the recent injury to Prichard Colon, the heavy hitter feared for what he was capable of doing to another man.

Deontay Wilder’s KO win over Robert Helenius made former champion break down

When Deontay Wilder knocked out Robert Helenius, it immediately signalled a return to form for one of the hardest hitting heavyweights in American boxing history. However, at the post-fight press conference, he got emotional noting just how seriously he can damage his opponents.

He had just come off two consecutive stoppages of his own against Tyson Fury, the first of which he claimed was due to myriad cheating methods. And speaking to the media, Wilder was moved to tears by the severity of boxing at heavyweight.

“My heart out goes out to him and I hope he’s doing okay and he’ll be able to go back to his family,” Wilder told the gathered press at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. “People always go on about records and all this.

“They say, ‘Oh he lost, oh he’s a bum,’ and all that. Well you get your bum a** in there then… Yeah it’s a great knockout, it’s devastating, making history, but how much is that man gonna suffer? And we’ve seen what happened, look at Prichard Colon. This man didn’t have no kids.”

The mention of Colon, who was left with severe brain injuries after punches to the back of the head in his final fight, was too much for Wilder, who burst into tears.

“They don’t understand man, y’all don’t f—ing understand what we go through man,” he continued. “And I don’t even know him like that, but I’ll always be an advocate for us.

“This man will never know what it feels like to be somebody’s father and that’s the most precious thing in the world, to be somebody’s father. But he’ll never be nobody’s father. This man will never have a natural chance of living again because he got in the ring to support his family.

“But now, his family have gotta take care of him for the rest of his life… We don’t know if Robert’s gonna be the same after this. But I just did a job.”

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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