“You’ve gotten older,” Deontay Wilder’s mother urges son to retire after defeat against Zhilei Zhang

Deontay Wilder suffered yet another loss, which has prompted his mother to ask him to retire from the sport.

“You’ve gotten older,” Deontay Wilder’s mother urges son to retire after defeat against Zhilei Zhang

Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang (image credit- The Guardian, Marca)

Deontay Wilder‘s mother has disclosed that she motivated her son to step down from boxing after his defeat to Zhilei Zhang. The ex-WBC champion suffered a crushing defeat in the fifth round against the Chinese fighter, marking another unfortunate loss in recent times. Wilder, referred to as “The Bronze Bomber,” rose from Olympic glory to global acclaim by ending a stretch of eight years without a major title for the United States in 2015. 

He held onto the esteemed WBC heavyweight championship for five years, winning it back-to-back ten times. However, Wilder’s flawless history in the boxing ring ended disappointingly after a series of defeats to Tyson Fury in their iconic three-fight series. After these losses, he also failed to win against Joseph Parker the previous year and most recently against Zhang, ending with just one win in the last ten fights.

You've gotten older. You've ran your course in your journey. It's now time to celebrate
Deontay Wilder’s mother via USA Today Sports
YouTube video

The issue now hangs over whether the 38-year-old will choose to retire sooner rather than later. Subsequently, his mother has been encouraging her son to retire while highlighting all his achievements. Wilder’s mother also remarked on how he entertained the world when boxing was a dead sport. 

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Her last bit of guidance to her defeated son was to apply the knowledge he acquired throughout his boxing career. In addition, she prompted him to assist upcoming boxers in reaching the top of the sport the way he did. 

Related: Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder ship has sailed away [/related_content}

Eddie Hearn speaks about Deontay Wilder’s performance

Eddie Hearn, the promoter for Matchroom, was given his initial chance to promote the former heavyweight titleholder. Subsequently, the outcome was far from the success they both anticipated. People had expected the fight to end with Wilder gaining back his relevance in the sport. 

Eddie Hearn, Dana White, Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Henry Garcia, Oscar De La Hoya, Turki Alalshikh, Anthony Joshua. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, drug test. Deontay Wilder
Eddie Hearn (image credit- Boxing Scene)

This would have allowed him to secure bigger fights or even title fights and become a two-time world champion. However, those dreams were washed away when Zhang knocked out Wilder in the fifth round. As such, Hearn reflected on his team captain’s loss and stated that he isn’t the same. 

Hearn was quite disappointed with his team’s performance since they lost all the fights in the 5 vs. 5 fight card. In addition, he mentioned that Wilder was ready for the fight but fell short. Subsequently, Hearn suggested that he doesn’t have what it takes to be inside the ring. 

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