Richard Riakporhe has mocked Deontay Wilder’s father Gary for suggesting the Bronze Bomber still has a “few good years” left in the sport. Wilder has recently suffered a dramatic decline, most recently hitting a novel low when he was defeated by Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia.
The hard-hitting American was knocked out in the fifth round, with Zhang unleashing two right hooks, sending his opponent to the canvas. The manner in which he lost led to calls for Wilder to retire, including: from his own mother’s side, but his father still believes that he should continue to fight.
In a speech earlier this month, the elder Wilder pointed the finger at his son’s coach Malik Scott and said: “You don’t need a buddy to coach you. It’s not too delayed for [Deontay]. I believe he still has a few good years ahead of him.
“Deontay has always been dull. Now Malik is trying to train him to be a boxer, and if you look at it, you can see that Deontay is not comfortable where he is.”
Riakporhe, who faced Chris Billam-Smith for the WBO cruiserweight title on Saturday night, believes there is still hope for Wilder but disagrees with his father’s hopeful view.
“I don’t know what it is, but something is missing,” Riakporhe told Express Sport. “If he can fix this, he can definitely do something. I think I read somewhere that his dad said he might spend another few years in the sport. I think this is crazy. He’s almost turning 40!
“But I would say he can definitely have a few more fights and he can end it all. Something is wrong, something is missing. In the heavyweight division, all it takes is one good win and that’s it, he’s there.
“There are so many fighters in the heavyweight division who have lost so many times and are still at the top. “I think if he can fix it, then fine, but if he can’t fix it, he shouldn’t get in the ring again.”
Wilder suggested before the fight with Zhang that he would retire if he did not win, but the 38-year-old has not yet confirmed any plans to hang up his gloves. He has lost four of his last five appearances, with two of those defeats coming at the hands of Tyson Fury.
He was also defeated on points by Joseph Parker before losing to Zhang.