In the Queensberry vs Matchroom 5v5, Frank Warren’s Queensberry team was dominant as Zhilei Zhang knocked out the former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in the fifth round of the main event and completed the sweep of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom squad.
The inaugural 5v5 event took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The build up to the Wilder-Zhang bout was the equivalent to a crossroads fight in which the winner continues his boxing journey, and the loser packs it up and calls it a career.
In the opening round of the heavyweight contest, both fighters were pawing with their lead hand trying to find the range. Zhang consistently pressed forward while Wilder attempted to establish himself on the back foot.
In the opening minute of the second round, Zhang backed Wilder into a corner and hit him with a flurry of shots. In the final minute of the second, Wilder landed a right hand, and Zhang responded by connecting with a combination.
In the third round, Wilder remained gun shy as he seemed hesitant in regards to letting his hands go. In the fourth round, Zhang continued to press forward and put mental pressure on Wilder. Zhang was economical with his punches as the first four rounds of the bout lacked action.
Wilder started the fifth round by connecting with a solid right-hand shot. He followed it up by landing two additional right hands. With 1:26 left to go in the fifth round, Zhang hit Wilder with a right hook that made Wilder do a 360 spin.
Zhang hit Wilder with a second right-hand shot that sent Wilder down to the canvas. The former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder slowly got up, but he was in no condition to continue as the referee put a halt to the contest.
Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) collected the biggest win of his career, and he secured the sweep, as the Queensberry team won all five matches. With the victory, the 41-year-old Zhang has put himself in a position to get another big fight.
Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) is probably headed to a place called retirement. Wilder was an overachiever as he had limited boxing skills, but he managed to win a world title and have ten successful title defenses.
Wilder is tall, but he’s always been an undersized heavyweight. In his bout against Zhang, Wilder was outweighed by 68 pounds, as he came in at 214 and Zhang weighed in at 282.
The night of June 1, 2024, may have been Deontay Wilder’s last boxing match. Prior to the bout, Wilder spoke about retirement, and usually, when an athlete speaks about retirement before a contest, that’s a sign that the athlete has already mentally checked out.
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