Deontay Wilder isn't hanging up his gloves yet. His longtime manager Shelly Finkel has put retirement rumors to rest, saying "At this point, Deontay Wilder has not retired."
The former WBC heavyweight champ has hit a rough patch lately. He got knocked out in five rounds by Zhilei Zhang in his last fight. Before that, he lost on points to Joseph Parker in a fight where he oddly didn't use his famous right hand much. That's four losses in his last five fights for Wilder.
Wilder's career took a turn after his thrilling trilogy with Tyson Fury. He drew the first fight, then lost the next two by stoppage, giving up his WBC belt in the process.
With this string of losses, some folks started wondering if Wilder might call it quits. Even former undisputed heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis suggested Wilder should retire.
But Finkel set the record straight in a chat with World Boxing News. He made it clear that Wilder isn't done yet. Interestingly, Finkel also mentioned they turned down a shot at the WBC Bridgerweight World title against Lawrence Okolie.
Looking ahead, Wilder might get a chance to fight on a big card in Riyadh. Promoter Turki Alalshikh has said he's open to matching Wilder with British fighters. Derek Chisora and Joe Joyce are names being tossed around.
But Wilder's got to be careful. If he puts in another weak performance, it could spell the end of 'The Bronze Bomber' at the top level of boxing.
