Dereck Chisora predicts heavyweight Zhilei Zhang will knockout former WBC champion Deontay Wilder in 10 days, sending him into retirement on June 1st in their twelve-round contest live on DAZN PPV at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Chisora Foresees Wilder’s Demise
There’s a lot to gain for Wilder if he’s victorious because he could get a lucrative fight against Anthony Joshua or get put in a position for a fourth fight against Tyson Fury.
Wilder is already wealthy, so money probably isn’t enough to motivate him to go to war with Zhang in this fight. If Wilder were still hungry and hadn’t made his millions in the sport already, he would fight tooth & nail against Zhang and risk everything. However, with an estimated net worth of $50 million, Wilder doesn’t need to put his chin on the line against Zhang.
It would take courage on Wilder’s part to have a shot at beating Zhang because he will get taken out if he fails to attack early in their fight on June 1st.
The 38-year-old Wilder has lost three out of his last four fights since 2020, and it’s difficult to believe he’s going to be able to find the fire he once had for him to defeat the hard-hitting two-time Olympian Zhang (26-2, 21 KOs) on June 1st.
Wilder spoke this week about returning to his roots to become the slugger he’d been during the best years of his career, but few believe that. These are just words coming from Wilder but likely without true conviction.
The Psychological Impact of Past Losses
It’s believed that the 2008 Olympian Wilder is gunshy from his two knockout defeats to Tyson Fury in 2020 and 2021, and he can’t find the courage that he once had in his game to let his right hand go to give him his best chance of winning.
The ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder looks like he’s afraid of being countered by his opponents, and we saw that loud and close in his recent loss to Joseph Parker last December. Wilder didn’t even try to throw his right hand in that fight.
“Wilder is going to get laid out,” said Dereck Chisora to the media today, predicting Deontay Wilder is going to get knocked out by Zhilei Zhang in their fight on June 1st in Riyadh.
“Wilder gets laid out and is retiring there and there,” said Chisora when asked if he’d be interested in fighting Deontay if he loses to Zhang. “What’s there for him to come back?”
That would be a disappointment if Wilder loses to Zhang by knockout and then retires without trying to claw his way back. But at that point, Wilder’s record would be 1-4 in his last five fights, and it would be useless to continue on with his tumbling career.
