Deontay Wilder offered another chance to become two-weight world champion after ignoring retirement plan

Deontay Wilder has been urged to move up to bridgeweight again after his trainer Malik Scott revealed he will not retire.

Wilder suffered back-to-back defeats against Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker and faced calls to retire with the 38-year-old in the final stages of his career.

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But he faced a call from Lawrence Okolie, who was eager to drag the ‘Bronze Bomber’ into the bridgeweight division, to fight for the relatively new WBC belt.

After being called up to face Kevin Lerena, the Brit decided to vacate the belt and a fight with Wilder at the new weight seems to be out of the question.

But Lerena, who is chasing the belt, made her own plea for Wilder to take action to become the two-weight king.

“I always wanted to fight Wilder,” said Lerena.

“Look, I know Wilder didn’t lose in a good way (against Parker or Zhang), but that being said, this is heavyweight boxing.

“These things may happen, but he will always be seen as a dangerous and spiteful puncher no matter what!

“I would be more than happy to give Wilder the opportunity to face me if he is willing to step down.

“As far as I know, there has been no contact with Wilder’s team, at least not yet, but I mentioned it to Spencer Brown (head of Goldstar Promotions), and it’s a fight I would do next.

“I’m hoping to be back in the ring around December or probably early in the new year, so there’s plenty of time to talk to Wilder, Opetaia or anyone else for a massive fight.”

It’s unclear exactly what Wilder’s future holds, but he would face an uphill battle to return to world level as a heavyweight.

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But some key fights still remain intriguing for a boxing fan should he decide to return, with many suggesting a possible showdown with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.

The American is now heading towards a stage in his career where more lucrative opportunities would probably make more sense.

And his coach Malik Scott is confident in Wilder’s return, but believes bigger names will be the priority if he decides to choose his next opponent.

“Deontay has the heart of a lion and is willing to use his shield in the ring. He will be back. Deontay will fight again,” he said.

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

“Deontay is still in the field of big fights, still in a position to make a lot of money and history.

“We’ll see how he deals with it and then we’ll see how Deontay feels when he gets back to the training ground. But all these fights are realistic, especially with the Saudi investment in boxing.

“All heavyweight fights are now competitive. Deontay has always been concerned about ensuring that he is compensated for the risks he takes in the ring.

“If he is fighting, he needs to receive a lot. As for the bigger fight, it could be against Ngannou or AJ. These are still megafights.

“AJ Maybe he doesn’t have the same energy as before, but he would still sell out any arena or stadium.”