Deontay Wilder said he will not retire following his shock 12-round decision loss to Joseph Parker.
The former WBC world heavyweight champion entered the ring as a comfortable favourite, but was well beaten by the New Zealander, who pulled out a career-best performance to continue his impressive run of form following his knockout defeat to Joe Joyce in September 2022.
Several hours after the fight, 38-year-old Wilder took to Instagram and reiterated his desire to carry on fighting.
“We came up short tonight,” Wilder said, looking unmarked in the video. “You know what, I don’t know what happened to be honest. My timing was off and I didn’t throw my punches. I didn’t let my hands go like I was supposed to. Sometimes you get like that. But you live to see another fight. You live to see another moment.
“I’m still full of happiness, still full of joy, still full of smiles. Sorry if I let anyone down but we will be back, though. That’s the thing about it, you know.”
Wilder concluded by saying that he is looking forward to returning home to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to see his children and thanked his fans before saying that this will not be the end of him and that he would indeed return.
“I thank you so much for the love and support that I’ve got in Riyadh and all my families, all my fans around the world, I thank you,” Wilder added. “I appreciate you so much. This is not the end. We’ll be back.”
Immediately following the contest, Wilder believed he had won the contest but initially said he might retire in the post-fight interviews.
“I did [in response to being questioned if he felt he had won],” said Wilder, who said of his performance and future, “My timing was off a little bit. Big up to Joseph. He did a great job avoiding most of my punches. We move on to the next thing. We did what we did and we move on. We live to see another day. I’m ready to go home to my children. I felt like I had the upper hand but you move on to the next step. There’s a lot of talk about different things. We will see what happens. We have a little more left, but I’ve done a great job managing my money… I’m a warrior so I’ll be back soon and, if not, it’s been a pleasure.”
