New Weight or Retirement – What Should Wilder Do? Ex-Champion's Advice

Recently, the President of the World Boxing Council (WBC) and Ready To Fight advisor, Mauricio Sulaiman, announced that former American heavyweight champion (over 90.7 kg) Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) could compete for the organization's title in the bridgerweight division (up to 101.6 kg), currently held by Briton Lawrence Okolie (20-1, 15 KOs).

According to Sulaiman, if the fighters agree, the fight can happen. Lawrence Okolie responded positively, saying: "I would be glad."

However, former cruiserweight champion (up to 90.7 kg) Glenn McCrory is not a fan of this idea and believes it's time for the "Bronze Bomber" to retire from professional boxing. "Should Wilder fight in a new weight class? Absolutely not. He should have hung up his gloves a long time ago. One of the biggest problems is that he has lost his balance. The main thing for a boxer is balance; you need to have a good foundation, your balance must be good.

If you look at great fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Prince Naseem Hamed – they all have excellent foundations. Wilder has lost his, completely. As soon as you lose your balance – retire. It doesn't matter what weight class you're in, without balance, anyone can knock you out.

But it's very difficult to come out and say, 'You know, I've made enough money. I was the world heavyweight champion. I've had my success, it's time to go,'" McCrory said.

On June 1, Deontay Wilder lost by technical knockout in the 5th round to Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs). This was his second consecutive loss and fourth in his last five fights. Nevertheless, the American retained his place in the top 15 of the WBC rankings.