Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder took to social media today to let fans know he’s returning to his old fighting style when he faces Zhilei Zhang on June 1st in their clash on DAZN PPV at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
If Wilder is talking to try and convince himself, he’s not going to be victorious against Zhang. He’s got to really believe it, and will need to come flying out of the gates, throwing right hands from the first round to have a chance. Zhang will take Wilder out quickly within one or two rounds if Wilder doesn’t go all out right away.
Rediscovering the “Bronze Bomber”
Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) admits that he lost who he used to be and tried to become something he wasn’t designed for by boxing his opponents instead of looking for knockouts like he’d done most of his career.
If Wilder doesn’t let his hands go against the powerful two-time Olympian Zhang (26-2, 21 KOs), he will get knocked out, and his career will end. Wilder cannot afford another loss at this point.
In the 38-year-old Wilder’s last fight, he attempted to box Joseph Parker and looked terrible in losing a one-sided 12-round decision last December in Riyadh. He spent most of the fight circling the ring, not throwing shots, and he allowed Parker, a fighter who was seen washed up going into that match, to win by default.
The Return of the King
“I can say a lot of things, but on June 1st, it’s going to be the revealing. I feel like I’m ready and look like I’m ready,” said Deontay Wilder on social media about his next fight against Zhilei Zhang on June 1st in Riyadh.
Wilder said a lot of the same things before his fight against Parker, but still didn’t fight with a purpose. It looked like Wilder was gunshy, afraid to throw for fear of being countered by one of Parker’s heavy shots.
Tyson Fury had knocked Wilder out twice, and Parker is a bigger puncher than him. The southpaw Zhang has way more power than either of those two, and he will be looking to end Wilder with every shot. If Wilder doesn’t get to Zhang right off the bat, his chances of winning are slim.
“I had to go back to that,” said Wilder about returning to the way he used to fight where he was a seek & destroy fighter. “I had to go back to what got me to the place in the first place. I was making mistakes. I was too blind to see.
“This s*** is going by fast, and I can’t wait. I got to go get what’s mine. The athlete risks his life for money. In boxing, we’re the 1%. Everybody else, they’re one of many. June 1st, the King is coming. The Bronze Bomber is coming and he’s bringing his people with him,” said Wilder.
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