Deontay Wilder Dismisses Speculation About Retirement
Deontay Wilder has dismissed suggestions that he will be retiring from the sport.
The former WBC heavyweight champion recently doubled down on his beliefs to become undisputed in the sport. The first part of that journey, completing it, takes place on December 23rd, 2023, against Joseph Parker.
The Bronze Bomber faces the former WBO heavyweight champion, hoping to fight Anthony Joshua provided that the latter beats Otto Wallin. A fight with Joshua could be for a WBC title eliminator, taking him one step closer to becoming a champion again. However, following his loss to Tyson Fury in the third fight, Wilder admitted that retirement was on his mind. Despite being at the age of 38, Wilder was still feeling fresh for the challenges ahead.
“I’m young, I’m young, I just turned 38. But we gotta understand that I started very late. I started at 21. I haven’t had much damage on me. I’m still sexy, I still talk very well, I handle business very well. I’m still energetic. I think I’m a seasoned fighter right now.
“I used to think about all these other fighters, started when they were young, very young, and get to the point [where they burn out]. I look at some of my Olympic brothers, like damn they burnt out because they’ve been doing it for so long and you can’t get burnt out. But I’m not burned out because of how I started and where I am now. I’m seasoned right now,” Wilder said
The American has not taken a lot of punishment, aside from the Fury fights, having stopped 42 opponents out of his 46 fights. In addition, Wilder’s decision to hire Malik Scott as his trainer has paid off. The American has a new-found sense of urgency while also improving on other parts of his game.
And the confidence has risen so much that Wilder is considering tackling the MMA world. The boxer has been linked with facing Francis Ngannou in an MMA fight. The terms could potentially involve a ‘mixed rules’ fight, allowing Wilder more flexibility rather than having an all-out MMA fight. Despite this, Ngannou has questioned whether Wilder will face him, given the serious task he would be up against.
“It could also be a mixed rules [fight]. We were thinking of mixed rules. Because honestly it’s going to be too hard for him if it’s not mixed rules. I have my territory [in MMA] where they cannot mess with me. If they come, they will need something like some favor, like, ‘I’ll give you this, we’ll take kicks out.’ I have to give him something. But when we step in the ring, they don’t give me anything and I still get them in trouble,” Ngannou stated
An MMA fight of some form may happen later down the line. But for now, the main focus will be on ensuring that he becomes undisputed in boxing. ‘Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com’
