Boxing journalist Michael Benson posted on his ‘X’ account (formerly Twitter) on January 1 a piece of news that shook the boxing world, and although it was already looming, it left no one without reaction.
Benson claimed in a tweet that Deontay Wilder was officially retiring from boxing at the age of 39, while highlighting the career of one of the heavyweight champions with the longest reign of all time. “Enjoy your retirement, Deontay,” he concluded in his post.
Deontay’s priority was not boxing
The fighter from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, had already shown signs of wanting to retire, or at least that’s what the boxing press assumed, but Wilder’s trainer, Malik Scott, soon came forward and denied everything. “Right now, he’s doing great. He’s recovering, enjoying life, and very involved in his real estate investments. He just had a great vacation with his kids,” he said at the time and related it to two eventual fights they were looking for against Francis Ngannou or Anthony Joshua.
The versions that pointed to Wilder leaving the ring were not unfounded, as the fighter himself came forward on several occasions to say that he would have had to “regain his love for boxing”.
Two recent defeats for Wilder
Deontay Wilder would have ended his successful career in the ring at the age of 39, after suffering two setbacks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, first against New Zealand’s Joseph Parker in December 2023, and then against China’s Zhilei Zhang just last June, leaving his record at 43 wins, 42 by knockout, one draw and only four defeats in 48 fights as a professional.
So far, no one from the boxer’s circle, nor the pugilist himself, has made this information official.