Edo Man Deontay Wilder knocked out by Zhilei Zhang in Round 5
In just 5 rounds, Edo Man Deontay Wilder was knocked out by Chinese star Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia.
At Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday, Zhilei Zhang, 41, defeated The Bronze Bomber via fifth-round knockout, handing Deontay Wilder yet another defeat.
From the beginning, WIlder did not have the upper hand in the power puncher duel. Although both combatants stumbled into the fight, Zhang's offensive was more successful at first.
Recently, Wilder has been under fire for his refusal to release his grip, and during the first four rounds of the battle, this problem beset him once more:
Zhang's win sealed a perfect 5-0 night for Queensbury boxing on a special pay-per-view program featuring five fighters from Matchroom and five from Frank Warren's Queensbury promotions.
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With this setback, Wilder has now lost two straight and four of his past five games. The only victory during that time came in October 2022 via first-round knockout over Robert Helenius.
What's next for Wilder
It wouldn't be shocking if this is Wilder's final fight given his advanced age of 38 and his growing loss total. Prior to the bout, he had acknowledged that a defeat would focus the retirement conversation.
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Should this be the final performance for the American knockout star would retire as one of the titans who helped define this heavyweight generation.
From 2015 to 2020, he held the WBC heavyweight title, which he retained nine times through knockout or technical knockout.
In terms of Zhang, this victory might present him with other chances in the future.
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Despite his record of defeats against Joseph Parker and Flip Hrgovic, a victory over Wilder is still significant.
Add Daniel Dubois, who defeated Filip Hrgovic on the undercard of this fight, and you have a number of competitors vying for the four recently united belts.
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