It’s the worst kind of knockout a fighter can suffer. A solid shot momentarily disorientates the victim and they become utterly defenceless… while still on their feet. For what seems like an endless second or two, the fighter is a sitting duck for whatever weapon their opponent selects for the coup de grâce. Deontay Wilder was on the unwanted end of this experience at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday.
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Zhilei Zhang had bossed a relatively one-paced fight through four rounds. Wilder was a shadow of the man who reigned as WBC heavyweight champion for five years and notched up 10 successful title defences. He offered a harmless little paw with his left hand, but wouldn’t or couldn’t pull the trigger on his once lethal right. “The Bronze Bomber” just moved away and tried his best to avoid contact while looking for the perfect opening. It never came.
In round five it would all be over. The 280-pound plus Zhang connected with a whipping right hook counter that spun the American around 180 degrees. The 38-year-old Wilder had a look of confusion on his face for that endless second or two, which was more than enough time for Zhang to close the gap and rifle home another devastating right to the head. Wilder went down like he’d been struck by a car and took a brief nap. A fighter to his core, the former champ woke up mid-count and amazingly found his feet, but referee Keiran McCann was there to give him a hug and wave the fight over.
I was never what you would call a Wilder fan. I like a boxer over a puncher, so he didn’t have the requisite attributes to draw me in. Still, he was more than capable of impressing me during business hours. His one-punch, clean-up knockouts of Artur Szpilka, Dominic Breazeale, Bermane Stiverne (2) and Luis Ortiz (2) were insane. It was almost like that right arm was loaded with spring steel.
However, what we learned late on about Wilder was how much courage he had -- the courage of a soldier. Once the secret was out on his one-armed bandit routine and he'd lost his mojo, Wilder was tested to the limit by fighters who could take away his signature punch (Joseph Parker) or get up from it (Tyson Fury). He wouldn't win those fights, but he wouldn't back down either.
In his return fight with “The Gypsy King”, in February 2020, Wilder absorbed an absolute shellacking, but he would not surrender. Ever! In fact, the Alabama native parted ways with long-time coach Mark Breland because he threw in the towel in the seventh round to save his charge from further punishment. Breland was merely showing mercy, but Wilder was prepared to die in the ring that night and he couldn't forgive his trainer.
That loss was the beginning of the end. Despite the one-sided nature of his first pro setback, Wilder took Fury to court to force a third fight in October 2021. In one round, the fourth, the ex-champ was thisclose to securing a stoppage win over his red-hot rival. However, Wilder was a far better puncher than he was a finisher, and Fury survived two knockdowns to take over the fight. The damage Wilder absorbed up until his 11th-round knockout loss was brutal.
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A bodacious first-round knockout win over Finland’s Robert Helenius in October 2022 convinced some fans that Wilder’s decline was being exaggerated. However, the decision to select Parker as a tune-up for Anthony Joshua was a big mistake. In December, the talented New Zealander closed the lid on Wilder with a resounding points triumph and now Zhang has buried him via devastating stoppage.
There’s never been a one-punch knockout artist like Wilder; not Liston, not Foreman, not Tyson… none of them. But just as those fighters would come to realise, the cloak of invincibility that’s acquired through otherworldly hitting power and intimidation is not forever. Wilder rode his luck more than most, forging his legacy as boxing's hardest hitting heavyweight champion ever while making millions of dollars. His life is a huge success story. Now, for the sake of his health and reputation, he needs to retire gracefully and enjoy his wealth and family. He’s earned that.