Fans have speculated that Deontay Wilder waited for Tyson Fury, who handed him his two career losses, to retire before announcing his boxing comeback.
The former world heavyweight champion had a flawless 40-0 record and reigned for years atop the division before crossing paths with Fury. The Brit provided the three blemishes on his otherwise impeccable card with first a draw and then two stoppage defeats.
But after taking more than six months to ponder his next move, it seems Wilder has decided not to hang up the gloves as Fury did last month. The Brit opted to quit the sport following his win over Dillian Whyte, retiring with an undefeated, but imperfect 32-0-1 record.
Wilder was speaking at the unveiling of a life-size statue of himself in his hometown of Tuscaloosa in Alabama when he confirmed that he would fight again. "This moment of time, my goodness," he said. "In the midst of this journey, I’m being blessed.
"It’s not like I’m retired and it’s been ten, twenty years. This is now that I’m getting my flowers. I can’t stop right now. I must continue with my journey. love you guys so much. I can’t end it like this. This journey’s not over with. I must continue my journey."
But fans are convinced that he decided to hold off on announcing his future plans until Fury confirmed last month that he was done with boxing. One wrote on Twitter "man waited till Fury retired. He can now go back to being champion again," while another added that he "had to wait until Fury was gone in fear of losing again."
Wilder was one of the most fearsome punchers in heavyweight history before his losses to Fury, but lost some of his lustre after a series of bizarre excuses for losing their first rematch. And there is a belief that with his punching power, he could still stop either Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk over a twelve round contest.
One fan said that Wilder "can only go up after getting killed by the Gypsy King," while another believes "now that Fury has retired Wilder can become undisputed champ". One other wrote "If Fury stays retired, Wilder is best heavyweight out there."
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There are a number of massive fights out there for Wilder on his return to the ring, including his fellow ex-heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz jr who is still contracted to PBC. He could also tune up with a fight against former champion Charles Martin, or jump straight into a meeting with the loser of Joshua and Usyk's unified title rematch on July 23.
It remains to be seen if Fury's retirement announcement is legitimate, as the WBC have yet to force him to make a decision on giving up his world heavyweight belt. He had promised his wife Paris that he would hang up the gloves after defeating Wilder in a gruelling trilogy bout where he was dropped twice on his way to an eleventh round knockout.
Should he opt to forfeit his belt, Wilder could end up fighting for the gold, and become a two-time heavyweight champion. That could set him up for an eventual undisputed title fight with the winner of Joshua and Usyk's rematch.
Wilder has yet to come back from a loss in his professional career, but following his controversial draw with Fury that many believed he lost, the American brutalised Dominic Breazeale before knocking out Luis Ortiz. He was also beaten in the 2008 Olympics semi-final, and parlayed that run into his successful professional career.
