Wilder Says He’ll Fight Until His 50: “In The Heavyweight Division, We Tend To Go A Little Bit Longer”
Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has, in the opinion of some fans and experts; in fact, quite a few, looked close to done for some time now. You do have to go back a few years to find Wilder’s last impressive performance. But Wilder, who turns 40 next month, insists he is far from finished as a fighter. Speaking yesterday on The Ariel Helwani Show, Wilder said he plans to fight until he’s 50 years old.
Wilder, no doubt referring to heavyweight legends like George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and the other heavyweight greats who were able to keep on keeping on when past the age of 40 or more, stated that the big men of the sport “tend to go a little bit longer than the rest.”
Wilder insists heavyweights can last longer
Wilder says he has as much as ten years left in the sport.
“I got ten years left,” Wilder said. “Will I commit fully to that or not? I got my ten years left to do what I got to do, to enjoy myself while I can in this little moment of me being here, and I’m gonna had a damn good time doing it. Most definitely [I will fight at age 50]. You’ve got to understand, in the heavyweight division, we tend to go a little bit longer than the rest. Being the bigger guys, the division is not as packed as the smaller divisions. We don’t take too much damage as the smaller guys. Most of the smaller guys, their careers are done by like 30.”
It’s true the heavyweights can go longer than the lower weight fighters, who are of course more reliant on speed and reflexes, these being attributes that fade as a boxer ages. Heavyweights can get away by using superb timing to overcome speed; the special “old” heavyweights can, anyway – guys like Foreman and, as mentioned by Wilder, Bernard Hopkins, although B-Hop was a light heavyweight as we know.
Can Wilder really go another decade?
But in terms of the heavyweights not taking as much damage, hasn’t Wilder taken enough damage already? His three wars with Tyson Fury certainly put some miles on Wilder’s clock, and then he was beaten by Joe Parker (more of a technical beating with Wilder being thoroughly outboxed) and Zhilei Zhang, who took Wilder out quite violently. How much has Wilder got left at this stage, and has he possibly got as much as ten years left?
Wilder argued that as he started the sport late, at age 21, he has time on his side still. Maybe, for another two or three wins – but a full decade? The odds seem stacked against that. But for however long he remains in the sport, Wilder will be a fighter, and a character, worth watching and paying attention to.
Wilder may have his flaws but he’s never been dull or boring. As far as who he might fight next, there is ongoing talk of a Wilder–Francis Ngannou fight taking place next year, while some fans have still got hopes of seeing Wilder and Anthony Joshua collide before they both retire.
