Deontay Wilder should hang up his gloves, according to former boxer Tony Bellew. The retired fighter and current commentator thinks it's time for 'The Bronze Bomber' to call it quits to protect his health.
Bellew knows a thing or two about when to step away from the ring. He ended his own career after a loss to Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed cruiserweight titles. Before that, he had two big wins over David Haye in Sky Box Office events.
Wilder's recent run in the ring hasn't been great. He drew with Tyson Fury in their first fight, then got knocked out twice in the rematches. He bounced back with a win over Robert Helenius in what was seen as a rebuild fight. But then he lost on points to Joseph Parker and got stopped inside five rounds by Zhilei Zhang.
Bellew shared his thoughts on Wilder's situation:
"I wish Deontay Wilder well and hope he now thinks about his wealth and ultimately his health … He's done. Resistance and hunger are both gone."
Despite this advice, Wilder has said he'll keep fighting. He's likely to face Curtis Harper next in a comeback fight. If he wins that one, he'll probably look for a bigger name opponent.
There's talk that Wilder might end up fighting Francis Ngannou, the MMA star who's dipped his toes into boxing. That fight would certainly get a lot of attention, but it remains to be seen if it's the right move for Wilder at this point in his career.
