Deontay Wilder Responds To Retirement Rumors And Francis Ngannou Callout

Despite recent rumors, Deontay Wilder does not believe that he is anywhere close to retiring.

Many fans assumed that Wilder, 39, was nearing his end after his knockout loss to Zhilei Zhang in June 2024. He took a year off after the loss, but returned with a big knockout of Tyrrell Herndon in June.

Wilder claimed that the Zhang loss allowed him to reset his career and rejuvenated him. The former heavyweight champion now believes that he has "10 years left," he said in an interview on 'The Ariel Helwani Show.'

"I got 10 years left," Wilder said. "Will I commit fully to that or not? I got my 10 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 have a damn good time doing it."

Deontay Wilder believes he has another 10 years left in boxing.#HelwaniShow pic.twitter.com/yJ85fTA1WG
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 3, 2025

When host, Ariel Helwani, clarified if Wilder meant that he plans to fight until he is 50, 'The Bronze Bomber' doubled down on the claim.

"Most definitely," Wilder said. "You gotta 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, they're careers are done by like 30. You see Bernard Hopkins, he went to about 49, 50. You got the heavyweights, they always go a little bit longer.

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"I got into this business at 21, so I feel right now that I'm a veteran. I just got into the groove of things and understanding certain things. I'm not burnt out at all. I feel great, you know what I'm saying? Of course, age is what it is, but we get older every year. We can't change that factor of things, it's just the way life is.

"But age is only a number... if we went off of what we felt, then a lot of us feel real young. Some of us would be young and feel old. It's a beautiful thing to be where I am in this place, in this mindset, and I'm just ready to go."

Deontay Wilder responds to Francis Ngannou fight rumors

Wilder also addressed the ongoing rumors regarding a potential fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Wilder confirmed his interest in the matchup, expressing excitement at the idea of facing another knockout artist.

While Wilder is widely regarded as one of the hardest punchers in boxing history, he is just 2-4 in his last six fights, with three of those four losses by knockout.

Although Ngannou is 0-2 as a professional boxer, his losses came against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Fans have wanted the matchup for a while, believing that it makes the most sense for both men in their careers.

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