Deontay Wilder is approaching the end of his career and is facing calls to hang up the gloves for good now.
Once renowned as one of the best in the heavyweight division, Deontay Wilder has suffered plenty of setbacks in his last five fights, losing four of them -including defeat against Tyson Fury, with three of those defeats via knockout.
The ‘Bronze Bomber’ has looked like a shadow of his former self in those fights and was brutally knocked out by Zhilei Zhang during the Queensbury vs Matchroom card on 1 June 2024.
Any hopes of a heavyweight title fight look like a distant dream right now but the American had been offered to fight for a belt in a different weight category.
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Deontay Wilder offered bridgerweight belt battle
Current WBC bridgerweight belt holder Laurence Okolie proposed a fight offer to Wilder.
Given the division’s recent change in weight limit (224lbs), Wilder would comfortably be able to compete having weighed in at 214lbs for his most recent fight against Zhang.
Talking about his proposal, Okolie said: “If he wants to keep boxing then it’s probably worth boxing at Bridgerweight against maybe the WBC bridgerweight world champion. That would be a great fight.
“People still want to see Wilder because it’s Wilder and despite him getting stopped like that you can see he still has power and athleticism. I’d welcome that fight.”
Wilder shuts down Laurence Okolie offer
Despite making the offer, the chance of Wilder and Okolie meeting has been shut down before any such talks could take place.
Confirming Wilder’s stance to World Boxing News, the ‘Bronze Bomber’s’ manager Shelly Finkel said: “Please thank Lawrence Okolie for the offer, but we have no interest in the WBC bridgerweight title.”
The 38-year-old has yet to confirm if he will retire from the sport or not.