“I've got like 10 years left, baby, I'm only 40 years young, man,” said former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. “See, that's the thing about age. People don't understand, and they've got to get it together. Of course, age can define you and the factors of your ability to move, being active, and different things like that or whatever. But that's only if you allow it to. Because if you're active, no matter what age you are, you're going to still be able to move. You're going to still be able to have an ability to do a lot of things. It's only when you die inside and you allow that age to overcome [and think] ‘Oh, shit, I'm 40 years old. I'm old. No, hell no.’”
Wilder was talking to BoxingScene about how much longer he wants to fight. He turned pro in 2008, and another 10 years would mean he’d been a professional for almost 30 years.
However, given the vast fortune he has already earned from the sport, is retirement not a fair suggestion?
“That [being financially secure] can be factors [to retire] as well, but right now, I’m good to go,” he went on. “It's a good feeling to know that you don't never have to come back now. You understand me? That means I've done my job well. This [boxing] wasn't my dream. I didn't know nothing about boxing. I only got in because of my daughter [Naieya was born with spina bifida and needed expensive medical care]. You understand me? That's it, and I've done what I've done. So it's much work to do. It's still more work to do, and I've got a lot of life left.
“Dear me, and I want to show people. People want that old one [Deontay Wilder] back, but I've got something better for you. Trust me, I've got something better. You know what I mean? 40 is a beautiful age. I feel great. I'm very active. Age is nothing but a number. It's all about how you feel. It's all about how you're feeling, and people get that in their mindset, and they stay active as their body gets older. You've got to stay active. You've got to stay in shape. You've got to stay working out. Boxing and swimming, I always promote that to people and stuff like that.
“As you get older, you've got to know how to eat differently. You've got to change up some things to keep that healthy body because you're not young no more. Your body is not functioning off of the young system that it was. It's an older body. So, now, at this moment in time, you should have more knowledge of how to take care of your body if you seek it.”
Wilder picks up health tips online, from social media and in books.
“I take heed of those things and stuff like that. So we're going to see. I'm so happy at this moment in time,” he added. “And that's just not because of the call-out [with Oleksandr Usyk challenging him for a bout in 2026] and being able to fight. It's just in general, as a human being, and the things that I've been through mentally, and where I am now.”
Earlier in the year, Wilder spoke of personal trauma. He’d needed to see a sports psychologist to try and focus on boxing and he’d been through dark times in his private life.
“Oh, man, [I was in a] crazy place. But I'm back, though. I'm nice now. I can breathe. It's just tough when you have to go through certain things, especially mentally, because mentally, that's what runs everything. And if you ain't mentally there, it's done. You're done. Some people don't know how to come back from mentally not being there or if something has happened, a huge event or something happens to you, and then the outcome is not what you expect, and then you've got the whole world on you. Some people just go to a place where they just go hiding. If you hide, then you have lost in life. You may lose many battles in your career, understand me, but don't lose the war in life because if you do, you're just as good as dead.”
