Deontay Wilder’s teammate Tay Jones has sparked new rumours he won’t retire.

Wilder suffered a brutal KO defeat having his head bounced off the canvas after six rounds at the hands of Zhilei Zhang, to hand him his second consecutive los

Wilder failed to beat the count after being dropped by ZhangCredit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom

Prior to the fight, it was considered a crossroads moment with the ‘Bronze Bomber’ boldly declaring he would hang up his gloves if he lost again.

The former world champion has yet to officially notify the boxing world as to what his decision will be, but a new source appears to have plunged his future into new doubt.

Jones, a teammate of Wilder who was ringside in the Middle East, wrote on Twitter: “We ain’t done yet coach, stand by.”

His cryptic post was in response to a fan who suggested Wilder’s noticeable decline would spell an end to his an overall successful career.

It was a tough outing for the American, who once again looked a shadow of himself having failed to let his hands go and show his monstrous power.

This was an aspect of his game that he had vowed to improve, after being accused of being gun-shy in a points defeat to Joseph Parker six months prior.

Not many big fights will be available now for Wilder, who finds himself well away from the world title mix, and from his mega-fight with Anthony Joshua.

Widespread calls to call it a day have been wider than ever, given he has been in some gruelling encounters, including his trilogy with Tyson Fury.

The American returned after his two defeats to the ‘Gypsy King’, but the Briton’s promoter Frank Warren believes he should have stayed away from the ring thereafter.

“The thing about fighters is they are the first to know when their powers are gone and they’re not the fighters they were, but they’re the last to admit it,” Warren said.

“I’ve told fighters to retire and done it on numerous occasions, but the problem is whether they listen.

“And unfortunately in boxing what they can’t do is go somewhere else.

“That’s the problem. And you’ve got people around who will keep saying, ‘Yeah, just have one more, have one more.’

“But you can’t do that because all you’re doing is putting miles on the clock and it comes back to haunt you in later life.

“He should have hung up his gloves I believe after he fought Tyson. Because those fights took a lot out of him.

“But let’s hope now that’s gonna be the case and that’s his last fight.”

He has lit up the sport for so many years, but reception to further outings could well stain his huge legacy with the public.