Deontay Wilder’s mother said she sent her son a message on Saturday after his brutal fifth-round knockout of Zhang Zilei.
“I texted my son and said, ‘Son, I’m throwing a party for you,'” Deborah Wilder told USA Today Sports on Sunday. “You showed us the best boxing in America at a time when boxing was dead. You’re old and you’ve done your path in life.”
“It’s time to celebrate.”
Former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder did not speak to the media in Saudi Arabia following his fourth loss in his last five fights, and Deborah Wilder said she had not spoken to him since the fight, but ahead of the heavyweight bout the 38-year-old suggested he might retire if he lost.
A right punch from Zhang, the 6-foot-6, 283-pound Chinese boxer, ended the bout at 1 minute, 51 seconds of the fifth round, likely bringing an end to Wilder’s decorated career. Wilder won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics and in 2015 became the first American heavyweight champion since 2007.
He held the belt until 2020.
Wilder currently has a record of 43 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw, with 42 knockouts, many of which are highlight reel worthy.
“He brought boxing back to the United States and we all enjoyed that knockout fight,” Deborah Wilder said. “I’m going to tape it and watch it again later.”
“We will laugh, we will cry, but we will be happy.”
Deontay Wilder is not only a legendary boxer, but he’s also a husband and father of eight who grew up poor in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but is now a wealthy man, according to his mother.
“So go enjoy life now,” Deborah Wilder said, “and teach other young people how to be champions.”
