Is Deontay Wilder going to retire? Or is he not? Those are the questions looming over the heads of many fans. What’s the need, one might ask? The second consecutive loss seemingly threw away that shield of invincibility that Deontay Wilder enjoyed for such a long time. With nearly 98% of his wins secured via knockouts, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was one of the deadliest hitters in the sport. But last year’s loss to Joseph Parker seemingly caused a severe jolt for many fans. Quite a few believed that after the first round knockout of Robert Helenius, Wilder should be back in line to compete at the top level.

But the June 1st loss to Zhilei Zhang further witnessed a shift in that faith. Unsurprising rumors of a retirement soon followed. It’s not clear what Deontay Wilder has in mind. He would be turning 39 this October. It’s not clear how much boxing is left in him. Fans and followers have always longed for that Wilder knockout. So how come suddenly whispers about him hanging up the gloves emerged? There might be a reason, as Joe Rogan suggested in his podcast.

Lamenting the fall: Joe Rogan decries the harsh judgment on Deontay Wilder after losses

So the UFC commentator and his guests were discussing Jon Jones‘ tentative bout with former champion Stipe Miocic. Some of the guests felt that instead of 41-year-old Miocic, they would rather see Jones take on Tom Aspinall. Joe Rogan then recalled how he would love to see Francis Ngannou in the scene.

He respects Ngannou for the millions he made fighting Tyson Fury. Not to forget the knockdown he scored against ‘The Gypsy King’. But he was saddened to see him go down against Anthony Joshua. “He’s like you’re just fighting one of the best boxers that’s ever competed at heavyweight, who’s a knockout puncher who really knows how to box, who’s an Olympic gold medalist, and you’ve had one boxing fight,” said Joe Rogan.

Then the discussion converged on the Ngannou-Fury fight. One of the guests suggested that ‘The Gypsy King’ might have had ‘an incentive to keep that fight going for a long time’. But Rogan disagreed. He argued that the Mancunian was the same boxer that he used to be. For example, he cited the latest Usyk fight as well. According to him, it was the Deontay Wilder fights that changed him.

“Deontay Wilder in those days was the most terrifying knockout puncher in the history of the heavyweight division, and he dropped him twice in that last fight and rocked him bad,” said Joe Rogan. Brendan Schaub joined in. He agreed that it greatly disappoints him to see how many don’t give credit to Wilder for all that he has done.

Joe Rogan continued, “You know how it is, man, once a guy loses, you start thinking about him as the guy that just lost; you don’t think about him. Yeah, I don’t, I don’t, and I don’t either, especially for somebody that started boxing late in life.”

Schaub then highlighted that Wilder started boxing when he was 23. It was much later than most of his peers, and he went on to win a bronze medal at the Olympics.

‘AJ’, all for ‘The Bronze Bomber’

It seems Joe Rogan might have another supporter in Anthony Joshua. The British heavyweight and Deontay Wilder almost had a mega fight in the works. But the latter’s two back-to-back losses seem to have shattered any possibility of the clash ever coming to fruition. However, ‘AJ’, always the sportsman that he is, believes that, unlike many who feel so, he won’t recommend retirement to ‘The Bronze Bomber’.

Speaking with Box Nation, he said, “No he’s he’s still dangerous. There’s still a lot he can do. There’s still a lot he can do, but if he gets too caught up in a life outside of box and he’ll retire because, you know what it is: if you listen to everyone’s opinion, it starts swaying your own intuition, so if he wants to fight in in in short, I don’t think he should in short but I hope he’s not listening to everyone’s opinion cuz everyone thinks he should.”

But the problem is that time is not the best ally Deontay Wilder can rely on. Is he looking at his final retirement after a championship win? If that’s the case, then he and the team will have to chalk out a detailed plan. It should gradually bring him back to a place where he can once again challenge either of the top-ranking title holders. Currently, ‘the bronze bomber ranks tenth in the WBA’s rankings and fifteenth in the WBC’s.

What’s your take on Joe Rogan’s assessment? Do you think fans have been too harsh on Deontay Wilder about retirement?