Wilder Looking To KO Zhang In New Training Footage – ‘Will Be Champ Again’

Deontay Wilder is training ahead of a potential fight with Zhilei Zhang on June 1 on the Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev card.

The Bronze Bomber is looking to bounce back from his last fight, as he lost a one-sided unanimous decision defeat to Joseph Parker. Wilder was far from his best, as his right hand was missing for large parts of the fight. The defeat ended hopes of an Anthony Joshua fight, with question marks over whether Wilder would retire.

After the loss, several reasons were put forward for Wilder’s poor performance. The former WBC Heavyweight Champion blamed jetlag, stating the travel arrangements impacted his ability to perform. Wilder’s trainer, Malik Scott, was also clear that the boxer’s Ayahuasca usage may have prevented removed his killer instinct.

“It was a boring fight, nothing really happened. I went right back to training the next day. He really didn’t do nothing, they just went off the little flurries or whatever. In the training for that I had to travel two times, 20 hours of travelling. And those guys were already in Europe, they were only two or three hours away. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying what I had to go through,” Wilder said 

“I think Deontay has a killer instinct that you can’t suppress, but I think he enjoyed ayahuasca. He said it made him a bit content and understand the smaller and softer things in life. Violence wasn’t a top priority that night and I think that’s why we came up short. Deontay is a killer, he’s violent – that Deontay didn’t show up that night. But that’s not the fighter you’re going to see in his next fight,” Scott said

Wilder’s Return

Now, Wilder looks more focused, as shown by his training footage. The following clip shows Wilder unleashing that jab, followed by the right hand, with full speed and power. If the Bronze Bomber lands that on Zhang, the Chinese could be in trouble.

Zhang also has plenty to prove, having lost to Parker in his last bout. The Chinese managed to drop Parker twice, but it was not enough to get the win, as Parker outworked him in the other rounds. The loss meant Zhang was no longer the WBO Interim Heavyweight Champion, losing his mandatory position for the winner of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk. While Zhang is close to facing Wilder, he is also keen on avenging the Parker loss.

Zhang vs Parker

“After defeating [Joe] Joyce I became overconfident, which made me a bit too relaxed when fighting Joseph Parker. In fact, in the first half of the fight, I had the upper hand totally. Towards the end, he changed his tactics. He tried to control the distance, so I couldn’t hit him.

“I started to feel anxious. We signed a rematch clause before the fight…..I was entitled to a rematch if I lost. If I had won, we wouldn’t have a rematch. The second fight will happen at the end of this year. We are working very hard right now to bring a fight to China. There are some difficulties in making it happen, but we are working very hard,” Zhang stated 

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