Deontay Wilder’s former promoter Lou DiBella has come out and explained the circumstances of his split with the WBC heavyweight champion.


The soon to be Hall of Fame promoter and ex-network executive worked as part of the American’s team for all of his fights after his move from Golden Boy to join Al Haymon’s PBC.



With Haymon masterminding things as Wilder’s advisor and Shelly Finkel remaining as manager, DiBella took the promotional role for title defences between 2015-2018.

However, following the draw with Tyson Fury in December 2018, DiBella then made an incredibly bold move which he insists ultimately cost him his position.

In the early 2019 stage of negotiations for a potential clash with Anthony Joshua, the Brit’s new big-spending US broadcaster DAZN emerged on the scene and wanted to host the fight.

This conflicted with Haymon though, who has US broadcast deals with Showtime and FOX.



In order to try and bridge the gap, DiBella set up a meeting for himself, Wilder, Haymon and Finkel to talk to DAZN’s executive chairman John Skipper about potentially moving over to secure an AJ bout.

“My relationship professionally as a promoter for Deontay Wilder and working with his team ended when I set up the DAZN meeting, which is perverse,” DiBella explained to iFL TV.

“What did I do? I tried to talk to everyone in the marketplace and make a best effort to make the most money for a guy that I cared about.

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”



DAZN offered Wilder a three-fight deal worth a reported $100million which would have consisted of a mandatory defence against Dominic Breazeale, followed by two Joshua fights.

Despite initially indicating he was excited by the idea, Wilder ultimately changed his mind, rejected the offer and stayed loyal to Showtime and FOX.

When the Breazeale fight did happen – on Showtime – DiBella was no longer involved