Deontay Wilder has been urged to move to bridgerweight again after his trainer Malik Scott revealed he won’t retire.

Wilder has suffered back-to-back defeats against Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker, and faced calls to retire with the 38-year-old in the final stages of his career.

Wilder’s future is still up for debate, but he has received a call to move to bridgerweightGetty

But he faced a call-out from Lawrence Okolie who was keen to drag the ‘Bronze Bomber’ to the bridgerweight division, to tussle for the relatively new WBC belt.

After being ordered to face Kevin Lerena, the Briton decided to vacate the belt and a fight with Wilder at the new weight appears to be off the cards.

But Lerena who is after the belt, has made his own plea for Wilder to make a move to become two-weight king.

“I’ve always been keen to fight Wilder,” Lerena said.

“Look, I know Wilder didn’t lose in a positive way [against Parker or Zhang], but having said that, this is heavyweight boxing.

“These things can happen, but he will always be seen as a dangerous, spiteful puncher no matter what!

“I’d be more than happy to give Wilder the opportunity to face me if he’s willing to make the move down.

“There hasn’t been any contact with Wilder’s team as far as I know, not as of yet anyway, but I did mention it to Spencer Brown [Goldstar Promotions chief], and it’s a fight I would take next.

“I hope to be back in the ring around December or probably early in the new year, so there’s plenty of time to talk to Wilder, Opetaia, or anyone else for a massive fight.”

It is unclear exactly what Wilder’s future holds, but he would face an uphill battle to return to world level at heavyweight.

Lerena wants to face Wilder in a unique battle at bridgerweightGetty

But some huge fights still remain intriguing for a boxing fan if he does choose to return, with many suggesting a potential match-up with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.

The American is now moving towards the stage of his career where the most lucrative opportunities would likely make the most sense.

And his trainer Malik Scott is confident that Wilder will return, but believes bigger names will be the priority if he elects to pick his next opponent.

“Deontay has the heart of a lion and is willing to go out on his shield in the ring. He’ll be back. Deontay will fight again,” he said.

“He still has a bright future in boxing, especially at the high level. Losses happen in boxing, even to the greatest fighters.

“Deontay’s still in the realm of big fights, still in a position to make a lot of money and history. He’s very blessed. Ngannou’s focus is on his PFL fight with Ferreira right now, and that’s a big, imposing fight.

“We’ll see how he handles that, and then we’ll see how Deontay’s feeling when he gets back into training camp. But all those fights are realistic, especially with the Saudi’s investment in boxing.

“All heavyweight match-ups now are competitive. Deontay’s always been about making sure he’s compensated for the risks he takes in the ring.

“If he’s fighting, he needs to be paid big. As for the biggest fight, it could be against Ngannou or AJ. They are still mega fights.

“AJ Maybe doesn’t have the same juice it once did, but it would still sell out any arena or stadium.”