In a shocking turn of events, former Heavyweight king, Deontay Wilder has succumbed to a devastating round 5 defeat at the hands of China’s Zhilei Zhang in front of a packed crowd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The former’s dismal downfall sent shockwaves across the community with many wanting the Alabama slugger to bounce back. However, undisputed champion, Oleksandr Usyk has a different opinion as he claimed that ‘The Bronze Bomber’ is “finished!”
Joining hosts, Mario Lopez & Steve Kim at the 3 Knockdown Rule studio was the newly crowned undisputed boxing HW champion, Oleksandr Usyk. When asked about Zhilei Zhang’s performance against Wilder, he said,
“Had a good fight but I think Deontay is finished, no concentration, no focus for boxing.”
From the looks of it, Usyk was right as the former champion looked nothing like his former self. His destructive form was nowhere to be seen in the bout against Zhang, and the Alabama slugger was at times shying away from a slugfest. In fact, looking at the KO, Wilder had no concentration whatsoever as he was seen breaking the fundamental rule of boxing – never take your eyes off of your opponent.
Once ‘The Bronze Bomber’ turned his back on his opponent to relay something to his corner, Zhang pounced on him delivering a leaping hook to lay the once formidable boxer out cold.
Meanwhile, apart from Usyk, even British promoter Eddie Hearn buried Wilder, essentially saying that his time was up.
Eddie Hearn feels Wilder is “not same” after Oleksandr Usyk gave his thoughts
‘The Bronze Bomber’ suffered four defeats out of his last five bouts – two against his former rival Tyson Fury while the other two were against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. With that being the case, boxing fans are concerned about Wilder’s lost form and Hearn feels like the former champ is nowhere near his prime.
“He’s just not the same, in all honesty, I just feel like his confidence isn’t there anymore.”
Said the promoter to Fight Hub TV reflecting on the Alabama slugger’s abysmal fall from grace. In fact, Hearn was spot on for saying that Wilder was not throwing his punches, as this was pretty evident in his last bout against Zhang.
