Tyson Fury has admitted he would like to see former opponent Deontay Wilder hang the up the gloves.
Fury and Wilder shared an epic trilogy from 2018 to 2021, with the Brit scoring back-to-back stoppage wins following a contentious draw in their first meeting.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ has looked a shell of himself since then in defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, the latter being an emphatic fifth round stoppage.
Some observers believe his gruelling fights with Fury sapped the fight out of the Alabama man, and the consensus in the boxing world is that it’s time for him to call it a day.
And speaking on Pound 4 Pound Podcast, ‘The Gypsy King’ revealed that was a view he shared.
“Being truthful, I’d like to see poor old Deontay retire from boxing.
“Obviously he lost the three fights to me. We took a lot of years off of each other’s lives.
“That war that ended in the 11th round by knockout, that takes a lot out your tank and you don’t recover from fights like that.
“Between me and Wilder in our trilogy there were ten knockdowns. It takes a lot out of a fighter.
“Even when he’s come back and had a couple of fights since against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, he’s only a shadow of his former glory.
“The only thing left of Deontay is his name. And that’s it. So I’d like to see him retire for sure before he does damage to himself.”
“𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐨!” 👀
Is it finally time for @AnthonyJoshua and Deontay Wilder to lock horns? 🔥#Boxing #AnthonyJoshua pic.twitter.com/PksPqUwVB6
— Pro Boxing Fans (@ProBoxingFans) October 21, 2024
Despite calls for him to retire, the expectation is that Wilder will carry on, with his trainer Malik Scott confirming he is targeting money-spinning showdowns with Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou.
And though the American would no doubt be handsomely paid for both of those fights, one wonders if the accompanying risk to his long-term health is worth taking a chance on.
