Deontay Wilder has revealed he sat with a gun in his lap and considered taking his own life.
The heavyweight world champion is currently preparing for his rematch with Tyson Fury on February 22.
Fury himself has struggled with his mental health and came close to killing himself during his three-year battle with depression.
And Wilder has opened up on his own issues which were exacerbated by his daughter being born with spina bifida in 2005.
"We all have our past story, we all came from somewhere to make us what we are now," he told Yahoo.
"At 19 and 20, I had a lot of hardship going on in my life - I had a daughter born with spina bifida as well - and just trying to make it as a young man living in the real world.
"I always had big goals and big dreams, my mind set is always of a king but sometimes life can bring you down.
"I did have a gun in my lap and I did think about committing suicide, if you do this you ain't got to worry about anything else, and the things in your life that are occurring.
"You don’t think about what affect it would cause for your family, your daughter, your kids and so forth and so on.
"In that state of mind, you just become selfish. You think of the inner pain and the outer pain that you’re feeling right at that very moment in time."
Wilder and Fury fought to a controversial draw in December 2018 as Wilder clung on to his belt.
The Brit has vowed to stop the champion later this month when they clash again in Las Vegas.
But Wilder said: "I still think Tyson had a pillow as a fist but he's a skilful fighter though. But you can't have it all, people say I don't have skills but I have the punch.
"That's what I felt at the time (pillow as a fist).
"It's an adrenaline rush in the ring, we're all brave warriors, we're all gladiators and that's what we become in order to fight and give you guys the best show of your lives."
