Content warning: This story contains descriptions of domestic violence and suspected child abuse.
Deontay Wilder’s fiancée, Terry Swift, has been granted a temporary restraining order against the former heavyweight champion boxer following numerous domestic violence allegations, according to TMZ and USA Today.
Swift reportedly filed for the TRO in Los Angeles last week and was granted it by a judge on Monday. The order, which requires Wilder to stay at least 100 yards away from Swift and her daughter, will be in effect until June 25, when the two are scheduled to appear before a judge.
In the filing, Swift alleges that she had been in a relationship with Wilder since 2015 and that they had become engaged in 2018, but that Wilder had reportedly slammed her son’s head against his car and choked him at least five times since 2018, once in front of her daughter and her son.
She also claims that Wilder took her laptop without her consent, sent disturbing messages to her acquaintances, spied on her using her home surveillance system, and kicked her out of her Atlanta home in April despite her having recently undergone invasive surgery. This was in addition to Wilder constantly taunting her, threatening to destroy her property, and demanding sex “three times a day.”
Swift reportedly feared Wilder would become violent when he returned home from last Saturday’s fight in Saudi Arabia. Via TMZ:
“Deontay has expressed enraged feelings towards me since April and has been physically abusive towards me in the past, which is why I believe he may be physically violent towards me upon his return in June,” she said.
She also believes, via USA Today, that his mental state has deteriorated along with his career since his loss to Tyson Fury.
“At that point, he was struggling to land any matches that would advance his career and was mentally unstable,” Swift wrote in her request for the restraining order. “He would often cry and scream in the home.”
Since his loss to Joseph Parker in December, Swift said, “Deontay has become more emotionally abusive towards me than ever before. As Deontay has become more aggressive and controlling, I have endured in silence because I did not want to put him through any more emotional pain.”
It’s worth noting that the process for obtaining a preliminary injunction in California essentially consists of one side filing a statement of why they consider the other a threat, and the judge granting it based on the applicant’s arguments. The subject of the preliminary injunction, in this case Wilder, does not have to attend the initial filing, only the days to present their case at the subsequent trial.
This is not the first time Wilder has been accused of domestic violence; he was arrested in Las Vegas in 2013 on suspicion of strangulation.
Deontay Wilder hit a career low last weekend
The restraining order was issued two days after Wilder’s heavyweight boxing career took a disastrous turn when he lost to Zhang Zhilei in a 5-5 Queensberry-Matchroom bout.
Once the undefeated WBC heavyweight champion and one of the most popular fighters in boxing thanks to his superior punching power, Wilder lost the belt to Fury in 2020 and has now lost four of his last five fights. The bout with Zhang was Wilder’s chance to remain in the top heavyweight division.
Instead, Wilder was sluggish and hesitant until the fifth round, when Zhang caught him in an awkward spin and took him to the ground. Many in the crowd, including Wilder’s mother, thought this might be Wilder’s final fight.
