Wilder not ready to retire, says trainer

 Former World Boxing Council (WBC) world heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder, is set to ignore pleas to retire and still has his eyes on huge-name fights.

Wilder has suffered a huge decline in the past year, losing to Joseph Parker in December, before being stopped by Zhilei Zhang in devastating fashion in June.

The defeats were met with widespread calls for the 'Bronze Bomber' to call time on his stellar career, given he now faces a long way back to reach the world title mix.

But Malik Scott, Wilder's trainer, believes he still has a bright future in the sport despite the doubts.

"Zhang is a very big, dangerous southpaw. Deontay got caught with a shot that put him in an unbalanced position, and Zhang did his job," Scott told Genting Casino.

"Deontay has the heart of a lion and is willing to go out on his shield in the ring. 

He'll be back. Deontay will fight again.

"He still has a bright future in boxing, especially at the high level. Losses happen in boxing, even to the greatest fighters.

"Right now, he’s doing very well; recovering, enjoying life, and heavily involved in real estate and investing.

"He just had a great vacation with his kids. Life is good for him. The same type of people who want Deontay to retire told Muhammad Ali not to fight George Foreman.

"They said George Foreman shouldn’t have fought Michael Moorer. These naysayers are part of the sport, and we need them.

"They provide the energy that keeps the fighters motivated and pushes managers and promoters. In my opinion, they’re wrong eight out of ten times, but it’s all part of the game."

Some huge name fights had been on the table prior to his defeats including finally settling his rivalry with Anthony Joshua.

The pair were on course to meet this year when his defeat to Parker derailed the signed agreement, and then it was dead and buried when he lost to Zhang.

Wilder had also held talks with former UFC champion Ngannou, who stepped in the ring twice in defeats to Tyson Fury and in March Joshua.

And Scott believes these are fights that can still be revived despite his bleak form in the squared circle.

Caption: Wilder (left) before one of his three fights against Tyson Fury.