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Deontay Wilder dismisses calls for retirement after brutal Zhilei Zhang knockout
Deontay Wilder has dismissed any notions that he considered retirement following the brutal knockout loss to Zhilei Zhang last June.
The two hard-hitting heavyweights clashed on the first ever Queensberry vs Matchroom 5v5 card in Riyadh with Queensberry winning all five fights.
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For Wilder, it was a night to forget. In round five, 'The Bronze Bomber' was knocked down by a Zhang right hand, and while he met the referee's count, the contest was waved off with the American on unsteady legs.
This loss followed Wilder's defeat to Joseph Parker six months prior and led to calls from some for the 39-year-old, who was once a WBC heavyweight champion, to retire.
However, in an interview during DAZN's Ariel x Ade: The Boxing Show, Wilder stated that he had no intentions to retire following the loss to Zhang and instead revealed that a call with his manager Shelly Finkel made him realise what was going wrong with his career.
"There were never any retirement questions in my mind whatsoever, because I couldn’t understand what was going on with me at this moment in time and pinpoint why certain things were happening," Wilder said.
"After the Zhang fight, I finally realised what was going on with me and I immediately took action. I called Shelly, who is my manager, I said ‘Shelly, I know what it is now’, we shared some deep thoughts that night and I immediately got help for it.
"In my mind, retirement was never there because I knew I wasn’t finished."
Wilder's first fight since the loss to Zhang has been confirmed for June 27 when he takes on Tyrrell Anthony Herndon in what will be the former's first boxing contest for 12 months.
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