China’s Zhilei Zhang knocked out Wilder at 1:51 of the fifth round of their heavyweight bout in Saudi Arabia, sending the American boxer to his fourth defeat in his past five fights — in what might have been his last fight.
Wilder called the bout a make-or-break moment and entertained the possibility of retirement.
He looked broken when he got hit by two Zhang rights in the fifth round that dropped him to the canvas.
Zhang went into the fight at 282 pounds, 68 pounds heavier than Wilder.
The Chinese absorbed Wilder’s powerful right hand punches before finishing him off.
The American did not participate in an in-ring interview after the fight.
Wilder, 38, fell to 43-4-1. Zhang, the 41-year-old southpaw from China, improved to 27-2-1.
“I would like to thank the fans in China,” Zhang told DAZN via a translator. “I successfully took his right hand away. I blocked a lot of punches, but, hell yeah, he punches hard, and I give him a lot of respect.
“I’m on the road to facing the champion.”
Source: Ghana/MaxTV/MaxFM/max.com.gh/Michael Mensah Martey
