RIYADH — Zhilei Zhang said that he is targeting World Boxing titles and a showdown with Anthony Joshua after knocking out Deontay Wilder in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Zhang knocked out Wilder in the fifth round of their heavyweight bout, sending the American boxer to his fourth defeat in his past five fights — in what might have been his last fight.
The win cements Zhang’s status as a formidable contender in the heavyweight division and marks a significant setback for Wilder, who has long been a prominent figure in the sport.
Wilder and Zhang both looked tentative to start the bout, but – in the clash of heavy hitters – Zhang struck first.
A heavy blow caught the American in the second round, but Zhang was unable to land a decisive follow-up strike.
Wilder was clearly rattled however, and it took just three more rounds for Zhang to land the winning combo, spinning the Bronze Bomber with a heavy right and following up as Wilder stumbled towards the corner.
The former WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhang was forcing Wilder to go in the direction that he wanted by cutting off the ring on him.
This wouldn’t have mattered if Wilder was aggressive and throwing punches, but he was fighting defensively Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) states that he realized Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) was hurt because his eyes weren’t focusing.
Heavyweight contender Zhang continued to hurt Wilder with shots in rounds three and four and finally took out the “disoriented” former WBC heavyweight champion in the fifth.
What was strange was how Wilder threw a right hand while he was moving to his right, and his feet weren’t set when he threw the shot.
It looked awkward the way Wilder threw the punch, but it left him open for a right hook from Zhang, which spun him around. Zhang then landed another right that put Wilder down.
The right hands that Wilder did connect in the fifth round to the head of Zhang were thrown with his feet not set. He was moving too much and sitting down on his shots the way he needed for him to have a chance of hurting Zhang.
“In the fifth round, he landed two right hands. One of them on the top of my forehead,” said Zhang about Wilder.
Zhang dominated the curtain closer of the event to leave Wilder’s career in tatters. Zhang’s victory, the most noteworthy of his career, comes just three months after he was upset by Joseph Parker and puts him back in the title picture.
“Losing to Parker was silly,” Zhang said. “I highly underestimated him and I learned a lot from underestimating him and the fight. I know now what I can do.”
Zhang was respectful of Wilder’s esteemed power in the early going but with the former WBC heavyweight champion, himself a loser to Parker last year; Zhang hurled another right that sent Wilder down heavily.
A right hand seemed to hurt Wilder in round five, making him turn around unsteadily and smile in mock amusement.
“After I landed the [first] shot I think he’s off-balance but he’s also hurt. Then I landed one more shot and that was it,” the victor said before commenting on the stoppage which came with Wilder back on his feet.
“The referee is the man who is in charge of the fight so we [as fighters] have to listen to him,” Zhang said of Wilder’s unjust complaints about the finish.
“He stopped the fight for a good reason. If he did not [stop the fight] I would have got up and let my punches go and that won’t end well for him [Wilder].”
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