Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder: Marsellos on learning his trade playing second fiddle to a world champion

Exclusive interview: The kid brother’s journey began when Deontay, the eldest of the two Wilder boys, told him to climb through the ropes at the Skyy Boxing gym and face the world heavyweight champion in a three-round spar

No sooner had Marsellos Wilder decided to ditch a promising football career in order to follow his feted brother into boxing was he required to sit the acid test.

Deontay, the eldest of the two Wilder boys, told his kid brother to climb through the ropes at the Skyy Boxing gym and face the world heavyweight champion in a three-round spar.

“He was the first guy I ever stepped in the ring with,” Marsellos remembers. “And it wasn't good at all.

“I think I got scarred for life in my first ever spar.”

In truth, the 29-year-old had grown accustomed to feeling the hand of his brother, who was 'as strict as they came' during their deeply religious formative years in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the household of their preacher father, Wilder played second fiddle and played it with aplomb.

Marsellos adds: “Growing up, being Deontay's brother – he was a very strict brother, man but he taught me a lot of things.

“We shared the same room. It was kinda like I had two dads in the house so to speak. Whenever my dad wasn't there, my brother took that father role. He cooked for me and everything like that.

“I was chastised by him as well. Me and him got in a lot of fights when I was littler. A guy like him goes from 0-100 real quick.

“It could be over anything whatsoever, just small things. He would always fly off the handle when I used to make noise when I was eating.

“Me 'smacking' at the dinner table would really irritate him. He couldn't stand me doing that, it bothered him a lot. He hit me across my head a couple of times for doing that.

“Being a little boy, his little brother, I had to be tough. It was tough being his brother at times.”

But all of that will seem worth it on Saturday night at the Los Angeles Staples Center, when Wilder Jr has his third professional fight on the undercard of his brother's world title defence against Tyson Fury.

For a kid who had only seven amateur bouts, his family name has provided the cruiserweight with an unusually large platform.

He says: “It's definitely an exciting moment for me. Three years ago I had a vision, I had a dream, of being able to perform on my brother's undercard and now it's here. And to do it on national television? It's amazing. I'm just trying to embrace it wholeheartedly.

“I always had the philosophy when I was a little boy. I always looked up to my big brother a lot. Anything he did I wanted to do. My brother was a hero for me when I was young. Seeing him come up playing sports, drew an interest from me. I always thought 'we have the same mum, the same dad, if he can do it, why can't I?'”

Marsellos has a professional record of 2-0 (Instagram)

Initially, a career in boxing seemed highly unlikely for the precocious athlete with genuine designs on making it to the National Football League.

“I played football in high school,” he says in a thick, southern accent. “I was a phenomenal athlete and ended up getting several scholarships. In the end I chose the scholarship at Jackson State University and I played there for four years as a starter. I won hella accolades and I was projected to get drafted in the fifth round but unfortunately that didn't happen.

“Coming from a small school I didn't have great representation. I was a diamond in the rough but I didn't have that strong team behind me at that team. I didn't have anybody to help me get to the NFL and I didn't want to just spend all my years chasing that.

“So while I was still young, I ended up being around my brother a little bit more and – hey – look at me now.”

Deontay is the reigning WBC champion of the world (Getty)

What started as an idea during a family chat resulted in the aforementioned 'scarring' sparring and those three rounds would help prime Wilder for seven wins in seven bouts in the unpaid ranks.

He says: “My brother was saying to me he thought I could be a big threat to the cruiserweight division because of my size and athleticism.

“Hearing that come out of my brother's mouth, the champ's mouth, definitely motivated me to give it a try and that I did.

“But first we had to spar and it was like being in a dark room with a blindfold over my eyes.

“He put me in a lot of troubling situations that I learned from and that session still helps me out today.

“He was testing me. It was the ultimate test. He wanted me to see this wasn't a game. He wanted to let me know what I was going to go through.

“People are going to try and take you out of there, especially being Deontay Wilder's brother. It's why I take everything so serious – I know I'm a target.”

For a man with such little experience, any talk of joining his brother at the top table of world boxing currently seems highly fanciful. He is 2-0 with both inside the distance and victory over 1-5-3 David Damore on Saturday will provide only a glimpse of his potential.

But Wilder Snr always prophesied his own ascent to world champion status and it seems that self-confidence runs in the blood.

“Becoming world champion is the only and the ultimate dream,” Marsellos adds. “To be the undisputed cruiserweight champion when my brother is the undisputed heavyweight champion.

“I'm about history, I came into this sport to make something of myself and to make history.

“If D can do it, why can't I?”