By: Sean Crose
“There were never any retirement questions in my mind whatsoever,” former world heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder recent told Forbes, “because I couldn’t understand what was going on with me at this moment in time and pinpoint why certain things were happening.”
Without doubt, Wilder has had quite the career for himself. After winning the WBC heavyweight title in 2015, he successfully defended his crown on numerous occasions – ten to be exact – before being stopped by Tyson Fury in the second of their three classic matches. The first Wilder Fury fight ended in a draw. The last two however ended up in stoppage loses for Wilder, even though he put Fury on the numerous times.
As things now stand the Alabama native has lost two of his last three fights – to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang respectively. And yet, a full year removed from his last fight, the man known as “The Bronze Bomber” exudes confidence in the lead up to his match with Tyrell Herndon later this month.
“After the Zhang fight,” Wilder told Forbes, “I finally realized what was going on with me and I immediately took action. I called Shelly, who is my manager, I said ‘Shelly, I know what it is now’, we shared some deep thoughts that night and I immediately got help for it” Wilder admits that even while things weren’t going well, he never thought of retiring. “In my mind, retirement was never there because I knew I wasn’t finished,” he said.
Indeed, the thought of retirement may well have never entered the man’s mind. “I’ve never thought about giving up, I never thought about quitting,” Wilder said. “I never thought about retiring. These are all rumors and stuff, and (I’m) saying — people don’t know . Most people want to be first than be correct. We are living in a world today where you want to put everything out on social media to get clicks and likes to make some money.”
While some may say that Wilder is lacking in skills, that he’s only a puncher, the truth is that he’s been one of the most exciting heavyweights the world has seen in a long time. Never could one think of a Deontay Wilder bout that was actually boring. That’s why it will always be good for fans to see Wilder back, provided he’s in relatively good shape. With that being said, the man is now 39 years old, and in the toughest of sports. Fans can only wish him their best. Then again who knows? He may indeed shock the world when all is said and done. “No matter what I’ve obtained or what I may have in life,” the fighter told Forbes “I still feel like there’s more to do.”