Richard Riakporhe has mocked Deontay Wilder's father Gary for suggesting the Bronze Bomber still has “a few good years left” in the sport. Wilder has suffered a dramatic fall from grace recently, hitting yet another low with his loss to Zhang Zhilei in Saudi Arabia.
The hard-hitting American was knocked out in the fifth round, with Zhang landing two right hooks that sent his rival to the canvas. The way Wilder lost led to calls for him to retire, including from his own mother, but his father still believes he should keep fighting.
Earlier this month, Wilder slammed his son's trainer, Malik Scott, saying: “I don't need buddies to train with. [Deontay]I believe he still has many good years left.
“Deontay has always been a hard hitter. Now Malik is trying to turn him into a boxer and you can see that Deontay is not happy with where he is right now.”
Liakporhe, who faces Chris Billam-Smith for the WBO cruiserweight title on Saturday night, believes there is still hope for Wilder but doesn't share his father's optimism.
“I don't know what he's missing, but he's missing something,” Riakporhe told Express Sport. “If he can fix that, he can definitely do something. I think I read somewhere that his father said he could continue in the sport for a few more years. I think that's crazy, he's almost 40!”
“But I think he can definitely fight a couple more fights and be done with it. Something is wrong, something is missing. At heavyweight, one win is enough. He's up there.”
“There are a lot of fighters in the heavyweight division who have lost a lot of times and still get attention. If he can improve that, good, but if he can't improve, I don't think he should ever step in the ring again.”
Wilder had hinted before the fight against Zhang that he would retire if he didn't win, but the 38-year-old has yet to reveal his retirement plans. Wilder has lost four of his last five fights, two of which came at the hands of Tyson Fury.
He also lost on points to Joseph Parker and then to Chang.
