Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder wants Muhammad Ali’s legacy ‘to live on through me’

Deontay Wilder won the World Boxing Council heavyweight belt on Muhammad Ali’s 73rd birthday last year, so the magnitude of the three-time champion’s death Friday night was not lost on the unbeaten Alabama fighter.

“It’s definitely a sad day for boxing and all the fans throughout the world,” Wilder said Saturday. “Ali, as a fighter and a man outside the ring -- his character, charm, personality and his fighting skill were all phenomenal. I truly feel there will never be another Muhammad Ali, no matter what.

“People can emulate him, try to talk like him, but there will never be another man like him. So it’s just a sad moment for me.

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“When I won that title on his birthday, I sort of felt as if he was passing the torch for me to carry. As he leaves, I’m even more determined to keep that Ali legacy going to bring excitement to the heavyweight division.”

Wilder (36-0, 35 knockouts), a 30-year-old from Alabama, said he shares the bonds of caring about everyday people like Ali and maintaining a sense of humor, keeping people entertained.

“He was the true definition of a world champion because he traveled all over the world to defend his title, and that’s the mission I’m seeking,” Wilder said after his May 21 bout against Russia’s Alexander Povetkin in Moscow was scrapped due to Povetkin’s positive drug test for the banned substance meldonium.

Now, Wilder is expected to begin training next week for a July fight, likely against Riverside’s Chris Arreola, with possible fights against Povetkin or International Boxing Federation champion Anthony Joshua of England in play for later in the year.

Interest in the heavyweight division is rising thanks to Wilder, Joshua and another champion from England, Tyson Fury, and Wilder said he’s determined to be the best of them all.

“I want to be that unified champion, that symbol of being a champion all over the world, like Muhammad Ali,” Wilder said. “The best way to honor him is by being great in the ring, letting his legacy live on through me and bring that message to the world in this era.”

Growing up as a football player, Wilder ultimately discovered Ali’s story and Saturday recounted all the life highlights of “The Greatest,” including his biggest fights, how he changed his name from Cassius Clay, his stance against the Vietnam War and his global work for mankind.

“He had the speed of a welterweight. … I just remember how excited he always was to talk — whether on a TV talk show, taunting his opponents, talking in camp,” Wilder said. “He never held his tongue, and I’m the same way. I speak my piece.”

Wilder said he was spending Saturday “still coping with the loss,” after learning of the death by text messages and social media and studying many news reports.

“My heart just dropped. . . . We all have to one day take this journey — all of us,” Wilder said. “The only thing not given to you in life is death. The only thing that’s guaranteed about life is death. We have to prepare for it, think about it. I’m still dealing with, man, the true definition of the greatest of all time is gone. He was a big part of my life. Being a Southern guy, too, it feels like I’ve lost a family member. I really looked up to him.”

Wilder, who was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala., met Ali in Chicago while qualifying for the 2008 Olympics.

“I ended up shaking his hand . . . you couldn’t really understand too much about what he was saying, but one thing I got from him was his sense of humor, how he liked to have people laugh,” Wilder said. “You could read between the lines. . . . I would’ve loved to have been around the younger Ali.

“He’ll never be forgotten, that’s for sure.”

Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter @latimespugmire