Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay "The Bronze Bomber" Wilder has been pushed to the brink, having lost three of his four bouts since 2020, and a loss against "The Big Bang" Zhang Zhilei on June 1 would really be the end of his career.
Wilder knows very well what it means to fight Zhang Zhilei, and for this reason, he also has the heroism of "putting death to death", that is, if he really loses the fight, he will officially retire from boxing.
It will not be easy for Wild to defeat Zhang Zhilei, after all, the strength and form of the opponent are there, and Wild gave full recognition to Zhang Zhilei in an interview this week, saying: "Zhang Zhilei has good technique, explosiveness, physical condition, boxing foundation, and is still a left-hander, all of which are amazing for me, so the fight will become exciting." ”
Although Zhang Zhilei was highly praised, Wild changed his words and threatened to return to the top through Zhang Zhilei. "Zhang Zhilei is a good fighter, but the reason why I chose him is to have the ability to show people that he is really back, because when I destroy Zhang Zhilei, like I know, I will return to the top," Wilder said. ”
It is undeniable that Wilder's strength is quite outstanding, and his past resume is very telling, but his verbal kung fu is sometimes more prominent than his fist kung fu, I wonder if this will pay a heavy price?
Wild belongs to PBC Al Haymon, but this time he reached an agreement with British promoter Eddie Hearn as a free fighter to participate in the fight against Zhang Zhilei. Hearn is also known to be the owner of Anthony Joshua, and many were surprised when Wild finally came to a deal with Hearn, but that's business, and there's nothing that can't be solved in the face of profit.
Wilder's last game was terrible, and when facing Joseph Parker, he barely hit a decent punch in the whole game, and finally lost on points, considering that Wilder is 38 years old, many doubted that he would retire on this, but in the end, Wilder decided to choose Zhang Zhilei to rebuild his glory, he may or may not do it.
When it comes to the collaboration between Wilder and Hearn, and the upcoming fight with Zhang Zhilei, British heavyweight rising star Marty Harris is dismissive. The 24-year-old has a 6-1 professional record, five knockouts, and is 2.03 meters tall and has served as a sparring partner for Tyson Fury, helping prepare for the rematch against Wilder, and he has also fought Joshua in actual combat.
Harris's evaluation of Wilder was unceremoniously, considering that Wilder had slandered Hearn and Joshua many times before, and now he suddenly joined hands, in Harris's opinion, Wilder did this purely for money, and there was no other reason.
"Wilder doesn't look like himself, and I feel like he just wants to cash in," Harris said. Wilder once said that he would never sign with Hearn, and now he has signed with Hearn, just to make some money and then disappear. ”
When asked who will win Zhang Zhilei or Wilder, Harris only said one sentence - "Zhang Zhilei will win." ”
Wilder's defection to Hearn is understandable, but the reason is that he has no permanent friends or enemies in front of interests. At present, the details of Wilder's cooperation with Hearn have not been made public, and there are rumors that if Wilder loses to Zhang Zhilei, the cooperation with Hearn will be automatically terminated, but if he wins against Zhang Zhilei, he will have a more profitable battle under Hearn's leadership.
Wilder and Hearn came together, it was more like an all-or-nothing gamble, it was better to defeat Zhang Zhilei, and he could make a fortune if he lost. It's not clear how much Wild will be paid for the fight with Zhang Zhilei, but it will definitely reach 7 figures, and after winning, he can continue to make money, nothing more than if he loses, Wild may really disappear, let's see if he can achieve his goal.