Former WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang says he’ll knock out Deontay Wilder on June 1st in their 12-round contest in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Both Zhang “The Big Bang” and Wilder lost to Joseph Parker the former WBO heavyweight champ from New Zealand.
Zhilei Zhang suffered a unanimous decision loss to Joseph Parker, despite flooring the New Zealander in the third and eighth rounds in Saudi Arabia on the 8th of March 2024. The Chinese heavyweight is now set to request immediate rematch against Parker.
In an embarrassingly one-sided fight in December 2023, with Wilder looking a shell of his former self as his technical flaws were accentuated more graphically than ever before, Parker boxed with composure and belief to receive the unanimous verdict by overwhelming margins of 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108.
The fight on the June 1st 2024, is seen as the last chance saloon for the struggling former WBC heavyweight champion ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs), who comes into the match with Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) having lost three out of his last four fights, and is calling this fight his “last stand.” Wilder made it clear that if he loses, he’ll retire.
“I will be his last dance partner. I don’t know if he will see the end of the dance, but I will make sure he enjoys it,” Zhang told the Charlie Parson YouTube channel talking about his fight against Deontay Wilder on June 1st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“Me and Deontay are both big punchers. When Chinese power vs. Alabama power, we’re going to bang the heck out of each other. Don’t blink, everything happens in one punch.” Deontay Wilder is plotting an explosive knockout victory over Zhilei Zhang as he looks for the statement performance he believes would propel him back into world heavyweight title contention.
The former WBC heavyweight champion is seeking to climb back up the heavyweight pecking order after enduring a setback defeat at the hands of an inspired Joseph Parker in Saudi Arabia in December.
Will this mean the end of the American “Bronze Bomber’s boxing career? Or will the Chinese “Big Bang” bite the dust in Riyadh? Follow BGTN to find out.
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