Wilder experiences a career-ending knockout in his fight.
Once a force to be reckoned with in heavyweight boxing, Deontay Wilder from the U.S. has been a world champion for five years. However, his career is coming to an end as he recently suffered a devastating loss against a seasoned Chinese veteran.
The former heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder is approaching the end of his career following his latest defeat. On Saturday, he was stopped in the fifth round by the 41-year-old Chinese fighter Zhang Zhilei through a technical knockout. This marks Wilder's fourth loss in the past five fights. There's a strong possibility that the American may call it quits after this setback.
Wilder's record now stands at 48 wins and 4 losses. During the fifth round of the bout, Zhang knocked Wilder off balance with a powerful right hand. He then finished Wilder off with another right hand to the ground. The referee subsequently stopped the match.
This was a humiliating outcome for Wilder, who was once feared in heavyweight boxing because of his mighty right hand and had held the WBC title for close to five years. He lost the title to Tyson Fury from the UK in February 2020 during their second meeting in a trilogy. In the following year, Wilder was brutally knocked out by Fury in their third encounter, but he bounced back with a knockout victory against Finnish Robert Helenius in October 2022. Unfortunately, a points loss against the New Zealander Joseph Parker in December dashed his hopes of facing the former world champion Anthony Joshua in a highly anticipated matchup.
Before Wilder's loss, Daniel Dubois of Britain was named interim champion in the IBF heavyweight division. Dubois secured the championship after defeating the Croatian Filip Hrgovic via technical knockout in the eighth round. If the undisputed champion Alexander Usyk's IBF title gets revoked, Dubois could potentially be upgraded to the IBF world champion. The organization made this announcement due to Usyk's decision to opt for a rematch against Fury over facing his mandatory challenger Hrgovic.
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Deontay Wilder's reign as a heavyweight boxing champion came to an end with his recent technical knockout loss to Zhang Zhilei. Despite his powerful right hand and past victories, Wilder's boxing career now appears to be in transition.
