Deontay Wilder has not announced his next fight five months after his last victory when knocking out Robert Helenius.
Despite being put on a plate by the WBC and Premier Boxing Champions, Wilder hasn’t signed a contract to face Andy Ruiz Jr.
The pair were ordered to fight a WBC final eliminator for the mandatory spot. However, a lot has gone on since both won their respective semi-finals.
And one month after his social media activity turned heads, the odd tweets have returned in the past few days. The strangeness, coupled with a wanting to fight UFC champion Francis Ngannou in what would be a one-sided massacre, led many to conclude Wilder’s career might be over.
Deontay Wilder’s state of mind
His state of mind doesn’t seem to be in the sport at the moment, which the American has to sort out as soon as possible.
Having hardly ever tweeted, Wilder’s activity blew up in January with a series of peculiar posts. They stopped on February 1.
Exactly a month later, he returned with a tweet that gave optimism that his mindset was back to normal.
“If one would live their lives and stop worrying about others’ life, they would be happier in life,” said Wilder.
That statement was all good until Wilder contradicted himself a day later.
Stating he hadn’t slept for almost a week was bad enough, but Wilder said he was done with traveling hours after expressing his desire to head to the Philippines.
It’s not apparent whether Wilder is even writing those tweets. Hopefully, he isn’t.
“I haven’t slept in five days. Now I’m in London. It’s time to go to work,” said Wilder. He added: I think I’ll visit my grandma in the Philippines next. She’s turning 80 next year.”
Soon after, Wilder stated: “I’m done with traveling at this point. I just want to go sit down somewhere.”
Accompanying the posts were the hashtags “Hard Travel” and “Face Azzz.”
Concerns over his future
Maybe it is the travel getting to Deontay Wilder. But if it isn’t, something is happening with his current frame of mind. His head certainly is not in the game right now.
The Ruiz fight was initially eyed for March 26 in Las Vegas. That date eventually went to David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant. Tom Brown booked a follow-up of May 6 for PBC until Andy Ruiz Jr. announced his intentions to leave the promoter.
He remains with Al Haymon, but everything is up in the air. The Cinco de Mayo event proved unworkable after Canelo Alvarez confirmed his desire to fight at home at the Mexican celebration.
Wilder admitted he wasn’t training for a fight days before this went down. If he returns this year, it won’t be until at least the end of May or June.
At 37, that’s not good for his ambitions or future after only three fights since 2019. Speaking to 78 Sports TV, Wilder explained his situation.
“The boxing business is one of the most difficult in the world because it takes a long time to close a deal. There is no well-defined structure.
“I’m not in camp yet. We’re waiting to see the next fight. We want to make the best fight possible.”
Career position
Wilder concluded on his precarious career position: “I’m sure I don’t have much more time left in boxing.
“I want to give people the fights they want to see. When I retire from the sport, I will leave it for good.”
The Ruiz fight was definitely on the fans’ radar. Let’s see if it can be renewed for the late spring or summer. Beyond Ruiz, there isn’t much for Wilder to chew on unless Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk collapses.
Follow experienced boxing writer Phil Jay on Twitter @PhilJWBN. Follow WBN: Facebook, Insta, Twitter.
