Former World Boxing Council heavyweight title holder Deontay Wilder recently appeared on the Cigar Talk podcast, where he claimed that his ex-girlfriend Telli Swift’s son Kerron rejected him as a father figure.According to the boxer, he put both the teenager and his mother in his multi-million-dollar will. However, they still disregarded his presence/ impact on their lives. Wilder, 40, stated:“I took the role of being your son’s father. Not just a daddy, but a father… I went in so hard to the point where I put them on my will. I had a meeting with my kids, and I said, ‘How y’all feel if I scoot you all over and let somebody else get a little bit?’”Deontay Wilder is not the biological father of Telli Swift’s son. Instead, the exes share a daughter named Kaorii. The heavyweight champion has a total of eight children of his own. He continued:“And you know my kids are amazing. They’re my best friends. And they were down with it. I moved a little space over and added her [Telli’s] son and I’m like you ain’t my son for real… I put her in my will as well… You just my girlfriend, you ain’t my wife… One time, the son said, ‘You ain’t my daddy!’ One thing you don’t tell a man who ain’t your daddy, don’t remind him you ain’t his daddy.”Wilder added that during the time he and Swift were together, he took her son in like his own, fed him, took him on trips, and gave him a “beautiful life.” However, when Kerron rejected him as a father, he almost had a “heart attack” and immediately met with his lawyer to change his will.All about Deontay Wilder’s childrenDeontay Wilder became a father for the first time in 2005 after his then-partner Helen Duncan gave birth to their daughter Naieya. Over the years, Wilder often mentioned that Naieya’s spina bifida diagnosis encouraged him to take up professional boxing to pay for her medical bills.Deontay, who’s nicknamed The Bronze Bomber, told ESPN in a past interview how his daughter eventually got better:“My daughter is doing wonderful now. You could never tell that she has spina bifida. She still walks with a limp because she had [five] surgeries when she was a baby. She still has to be catheterized, but she still manages to maintain her own.”Wilder called Naieya a “very strong young lady” who he hoped would grow up to be a “very strong woman.”“She has no choice, with who her daddy is,” the boxer shared at the time.Deontay Wilder, who also goes by Dr Sleep, was married to Jessica Lynn Scales-Wilder from 2009 to 2017. They share three children, Ava, Deontay Jr, and Dereon.Wilder met Telli Swift at the LAX Airport in 2015 and began dating soon after. They got engaged three years later at their baby’s gender reveal party. Their daughter, Kaorii Lee, was born in 2018. Together, the couple has appeared on WAGS Atlanta.In January 2018, Telli Swift spoke with PEOPLE Magazine while she was pregnant with her daughter.“It’s been a crazy journey. I needed to find myself again. I lost myself being Deontay’s shadow and eating, sleeping and breathing his boxing empire. Then, as I was trying to find my ground, I got pregnant. Deontay had baby fever. But I don’t want to be a typical baby mama. I want to get married. It was a constant battle and an emotional roller coaster,” Swift shared.Back then, Telli also mentioned giving Deontay an “ultimatum” about getting married and life moving at “super speed.” Telli’s real name is Shuntel Swift. She is a Filipino model, ER/cosmetic nurse, entrepreneur (owns a fragrance brand, D’Telli), podcast host (Telli Talks), and a reality TV personality.Telli Swift and Deontay Wilder’s engagement was called off after she accused him of domestic abuse in June 2024 and got a temporary restraining order against him. Additionally, Wilder’s visit to Kaorii was also monitored. A year later, the pair was embroiled in a child custody battle. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostDeontay Wilder is reportedly in a new relationship. Meanwhile, Telli Swift is dating NFL safety John Johnson III.In June 2025, Wilder claimed in a legal filing that his daughter’s life hadn’t been “stable” since Telli got her sole custody and began dating Johnson. However, the court denied joint legal and physical custody of Kaorii to Deontay. He was also asked to attend therapy and anger management program.The identity of Deontay Wilder’s three more children remains undisclosed.