“I love you, I’m sorry” – Deontay Wilder gets emotional after KO, has heartfelt moment with Helenius

After back-to-back defeats to Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder bounced back with a KO win over Robert Helenius on Saturday. It came via a devastating right hook that left a scary image of a glassy-eyed Helenius lying on the canvas.

But “The Bronze Bomber” wasn’t in the mood for seeing his former training partner in such a state. As well as apologizing to Helenius after the fight, he delivered a tearful but strong message to fans to remind them to show respect to all prizefighters.

“I always worry about all fighters,” Wilder said during post-fight press (quotes via MMA Fighting). “I’m a huge advocate for fighters because, as I always say, we always get things wrong. A sport is something you play. you don’t play this

“We risk our lives for your entertainment and I say that forever. When you are in a relationship with a man, when you love a man and develop a friendship with another man, even though he is thousands of miles away from me, when you see things like this, you want to come to their rescue.

“I wanted to come to his aid but they wouldn’t let me and I understood because he needed space.”

For Wilder, a KO win could do him good. On the other hand, the other person may be highly compromised, something that outside observers never really pay much attention to.

“But my heart goes out to him and I hope he’s okay and can go back to his family because this is a tough business we’re in. That’s why I tell people that you have to respect all fighters.

“People are always worried about records and all that, ‘He lost, he’s a bum’ and all that. Then get your ass in and let’s see who the real ass is. Because you don’t play that. You can’t play this.

“We demand respect from every fighter who steps into the ring at all times. I don’t care what the record is, I don’t care who they are or where they’re from, it demands respect because if you don’t then things like that happen. And then: ‘Oh, it’s a great knockout’

“Yeah it’s a great knockout, it’s devastating to make history and stuff like that, but how much is this man going to suffer?

“He might be a little alright now, but what about the next day? What is now in two weeks? What is now in a month? Maybe in years.”

Wilder got more emotional when he started speaking out about 30-year-old Prichard Colón, who was repeatedly punched in the back of the head during his fight with Terrel Williams in 2015. He went into a 221-day coma and has been in a vegetative state ever since.

“Look at Colon. Prichard Colon. This man has no children. They don’t understand, they don’t understand what we’re going through. And I don’t even know him like that.

“But I will always be an advocate for us because this man would never know what it felt like to be someone’s father. And that’s one of the (most precious) things in the world, being someone’s father. But he’s never gonna be nobody’s father, man.

“This man will never have a natural ability to live again because he stepped into the ring to support his family. And now his family will have to take care of him for the rest of his life.”

Back to Helenius, Wilder wishes only the best.

“We don’t know if Robert will be the same after that. I just got a job. I’m great at what I do. I don’t want to discourage people from their lifestyle. I also try to support my family.

“That’s what we signed up for and unfortunately there’s a winner and a loser and sometimes there’s a tie. But who takes on this responsibility when they can no longer work?

“Robert could be the breadwinner for his family, but what if he can’t anymore, what then? Who pays the bills? Who pays the mortgage? He has children – who takes care of his children?

“Because we all know when you lose and things don’t go right, the same people who kiss you and say they love you when you win, they’re not there for you anymore. Where are they?”

Wilder also checked on Helenius at his hotel after the fight and shared an emotional moment with his opponent.

“I love you bro, I’m sorry,” Wilder said as they shared a long hug after the contest. “Are you ok? I love you man.”

Helenius went on to say he’s likely to retire after the KO loss and thanked Wilder as they embraced again.

With Saturday’s win, Wilder’s record improved to 43-2-1.