Deborah Wilder, mother of former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, has called on her son to retire from boxing following his fifth-round knockout loss to Zhang Zilei in a 5-on-5 tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last Saturday night.
Slow performance
Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) was never competitive against the 41-year-old Zhang, landing punches while unsteady on his feet in the fifth round and leaving himself completely vulnerable to a counter right attack.
For the 38-year-old Deontay, it was his fourth loss in his last five fights since 2020, and it's clear he needs to call it a day.
Wilder has not publicly said whether he will retire from boxing, although he has repeatedly said he would in the run-up to the bout.
What's unclear is whether “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder was talking about retirement just to whet boxing fans' appetite for a fight with “The Big Bang” Chan, or if he was serious about it.
A Mother's Plea
“I texted him and said, 'Son, I'm throwing a party for you. You showed the best boxing in America at a time when boxing was dead. You're older. You've accomplished your mission in life. It's time to celebrate. Enjoy life now and teach other young people how to be champions,'” Deontay's mother, Deborah Wilder, told USA Today.
If Wilder chooses to continue his career, he should consider firing his trainer, Malik Scott, and finding someone who can return him to his old fighting style.
Since bringing Scott into the team in 2021, Wilder's fighting style has not worked in his four fights, with him going 1-3 under Scott's watch. Scott's attempts to tinker with Wilder's style and turn him into a boxer have failed miserably and it's now clear that changing the style that brought Wilder success was a mistake.
Financial impact
At this point, Wilder would likely have to agree to a pay cut as he is unlikely to continue to earn the huge amounts of money he was making during the height of his career.
For Wilder, this will be a bitter pill to swallow because, although he has made good money over the past six years of his career, his performance is now too poor for one promoter to justify giving him big money.
