Following his brutal knockout defeat to China's Zhilei Zhang, there have been calls from various quarters for Deontay Wilder to hang up his gloves.
Many are those who suggest that " The Bronze Bomber " is finished, as he was a shell of himself in the Zhang bout.
His all-out trilogy with Tyson Fury and devastating hammering in the hands of Joseph Parker have definitely had debilitating effects on the once dreaded Alabama Warrior.
Over a decade of back to back wars are beginning to take a toll on the man who once bragged he could beat a prime Iron Mike Tyson.
Notable among the people calling on Wilder to quit boxing is the boxer's mother: Deborah Wilder.
She entreated the former WBC Champion thus :
“ Son, we're having a party for you. You gave us the best boxing in USA when boxing was dead. You've gotten older. You've ran your course in your journey. It's time to celebrate. He brought back boxing to the USA, and we enjoyed all those knockouts. I taped them and Im going to look back at them. We gonna to laugh, we gonna to cry. But we gonna be happy. Enjoy your life now. Teach other young men how to become a champion.” she stated.
But on the other hand Deontay’s Dad actually wants his son to carry on but change trainers.
Deontay Wilder’s father, Gary Wilder, wants him to replace trainer Malik Scott with a different trainer following his fifth-round knockout loss to Zhilei Zhang in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Scott and Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) were friends before Malik took over as his head coach in 2021.
The pair even fought in March 2014 at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico; Wilder knocking out Scott in the first round.
Under Scott, Wilder has gone 1-3, and his fighting style has been transformed from a slugger to a boxer, which hasn’t worked.
Gary feels that was a mistake, as he thinks Deontay was better when he was a slugger. He is certainly ill-equipped attempting to box his opponents, and his fighting style is eerily similar to Malik Scott’s now. It hasn’t worked. His career has sunk.
Wilder’s only win with Scott as his coach was against his old sparring partner, Robert Helenius. “You need somebody you’re going to respect. You don’t need a buddy to train you," Gary opined.
“It’s not too late for [Deontay]. I believe he got several good years left,” Gary Wilder continued. “Deontay’s always been a slugger.”
It's unlikely Wilder would improve under a new coach; his punch resistance, stamina or boxing skills.
“Now Malik’s trying to train him to be a boxer, and if you look at it, you’ll see that Deontay is not comfortable where he at. As long as he tries to be a boxer, he’s not going to win,” said Gary.
A dilemma for Wilder: Mummy says "quit", Daddy says " Continue ".
But let's not forget, the initial reason Wilder got into boxing was to make enough money to cater for his daughter's medical condition.
Whose counsel should Deontay Wilder heed to: His mother's or his father's ?
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