Deontay Wilder is 6’7″, 227 lbs. and a heavyweight champion fighter. Which is why ESPN thought it would be funny to have Wilder punch a costumed mascot and show the audience how hard he punches as practice for his upcoming fight with Tyson Fury. Check it out:
KNOCK OUT!
There were reports that one, Wilder didn’t know there was an actual person inside the giant tortilla costume, and two, that he broke the man’s jaw:
Deontay Wilder wanted to show-off how hard he punched on ESPN
He broke this mascot's jaw after not realising there was a person inside ?pic.twitter.com/ISjZZz7h09
— Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) October 13, 2018
But apparently this is fake news. Wilder said he knew there was a person inside the costume and he apologized if the man was injured:
But according to ESPN, the man wasn’t hurt at all so we can totally laugh at this now and not feel bad about it:
Deontay Wilder has issued an apology to the man inside the mascot costume he punched while appearing on an ESPN show.
World heavyweight champion Wilder was encouraged to demonstrate his punching power by striking the mascot on ESPN Nacion.
The blow knocked the mascot to the ground. Despite initial reports, the man inside the costume was not injured by the punch.
ESPN should invent a sport that’s just people fighting mascots. RATINGS GOLD!
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