Zhilei Zhang rates former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder’s punch resistance at a “3” and his heart at a “5” going into their twelve-round clash this Saturday night in Riyadh.
Wilder’s Chin Under Scrutiny
Zhang (26-2, 21 KOs) likely rates Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) so low due to the way he folded in his second and third fights against Tyson Fury.
The way Wilder’s chin crumbled against Fury, who Zhang doesn’t rate as a big puncher, showed that he doesn’t hold up well when getting hit.
Fury hasn’t looked as good in any of his fights since the third match against Wilder, which reinforces the view that Deontay is packing glass.
Wilder is going to have to get to Zhang before he can land his big shots on Saturday night because Zhang is going to be dangerous every second he’s in there with him. We saw what Zhang did to Joe Joyce, knocking him out twice.
Zhang’s Confidence and Power
“Parker fought both of us, and look at how his face was different from the Wilder fight and my fight, and we know,” said Zhilei Zhang to BoxNation about how Joseph Parker’s face looked more marked up from his fight against him compared to Deontay Wilder’s.
Deontay was too afraid to throw punches against Parker, so that’s why he got out of the fight with him unmarked. Wilder looked terrifed.
“He’s coming here to beat me, and in my mind, he’s very dangerous and 100%, we’re well-prepared. Who’s body did he put on his record? Nobody,” said Zhang about Wilder saying he wants a body on his record. “You can say whatever he wants, but he doesn’t have a body on his record.”
Wilder is probably going to be a little more courageous in this fight due to promoter Eddie Hearn blowing smoke up his tailpipe, letting him know he needs a knockout win from him.
“If you look at my previous opponents, everybody is saying basically the same thing. They’re going to knock me out. Nobody knocked me out. I believe boxing is a sport, It doesn’t go through your mouth. It goes through your fists,” said Zhang.
“I must admit that Tyson Fury did a great job on Wilder’s last two fights, but I don’t think Tyson Fury is a natural heavy puncher. his punching power is there, but is it that powerful? That’s the question mark,” said Zhang.
Fury can’t punch, but Wilder showed that he lacks the chin to take shots without folding up and getting knocked out. That’s not going to change any on Saturday.
“If you compare my knockouts and see what happens to my opponents. Their eyes roll, their lights are out. So, I would say I can get the lights out for Deontay Wilder. It’s in the cooking. It’s in the brewing. I hope to bring a top-level fight to China. They deserve to see this,” said Zhang.
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