Deontay Wilder may never fight again if his TV career takes off after the former heavyweight champion joined a reality show.
Wilder has proven his boxing career is firmly on the back burner by signing up for a series in the United States.
The former WBC champion will be a cast member on series two of Peacock’s ‘The Traitors,’ presented by actor Alan Cummings of X-men fame.
Deontay Wilder on a TV show
Wilder has been consistently linked to a return to boxing against Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua. However, no discussions ever reached a serious stage.
Now we know why. Wilder has signed up to feature alongside a host of other “celebrities” after season one of the series proved a success.
“The Bronze Bomber” will stall his career longer despite being out for almost a year. As he approaches his 38th birthday, it’s a worrying sign that Wilder is moving away from the sport.
Despite being one of today’s top stars and ranked number one by the WBC, the knockout specialist clearly has other things on his mind.
Fights with Ruiz and Joshua proved unfruitful for Wilder, who will head into the reality TV genre alongside several other contestants.
‘The Traitors’ Season 2 cast:
Carsten ‘Bergie’ Bergersen joins Chris ‘C.T.’ Tamburello, Dan Gheesling, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Johnny Devenanzio and former House of Commons speaker John Bercow.
They are followed by Kevin Kreider, Larsa Pippen, Marcus Jordan, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and Mercedes “MJ” Javid.
Furthermore, Parvati Shallow, Peppermint, Peter Weber, Phaedra Parks, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Sheree Whitfield, Tamra Judge, and Trishelle Canatella complete the line-up.
‘The Traitors’ is a British import that has been aired since November 2022. Produced by Studio Lambert in Scotland, the BBC commissioned the show after its success in The Netherlands.
The United Kingdom version ran for twelve episodes. The US series had eleven episodes and aired from January 2023.
Wilder follows rival Tyson Fury with a foray into reality TV after the current WBC champion signed a deal with Netflix.
The subsequent series faced controversy, resulting in Fury slating the filming despite being offered a season two deal.
Wilder’s career on hold
While filming and publicity for the show continues, Wilder won’t be looking to announce a fight that would take attention away from the series.
It could be 2024 before Wilder gets back into the ring again. That’s if he ever does lace up the gloves and wants to trade blows.
The Joshua main event, targeted for Saudi Arabia, is now being switched to England or Las Vegas. It was intended for December but now heads to March or April.
This could give Wilder time to do both and keep his fans happy during his extended off-period.
A recent undisputed agreement between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk put Deontay Wilder out of the title picture.
