Deontay Wilder is back in training for a second spell since losing to Joseph Parker. However, there are fears that something is off with the American slugger.
“The Bronze Bomber” had problems against Parker last December when going down to a comprehensive decision defeat. In new footage since then, reaction from fans has many believing the old Wilder is gone.
Reports of a fight with Chinese juggernaut Zhilei Zhang have increased the intensity of that worry, with predictions of a Wilder knockout loss rising by the day.
Excuses following the Parker loss came thick and fast from Wilder, who is quickly becoming the king of deflecting blame for his shortcomings. The fact is, 177 victorious seconds in the ring surrounded by three defeats tells the story of the last four years.
The former WBC heavyweight champion has to do something big to get his detractors to believe he can be a force again before retirement.
“It was a boring fight, nothing really happened,” Wilder told ESNews on his Parker reverse. “I went right back to training the next day.
“He really didn’t do anything; they just went off the little flurries or whatever. In training for that, I had to travel two times, 20 hours of traveling.
“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.”
He added: “Camp-wise, we were prepared for everything. Sparring went well; we didn’t get enough sparring that we wanted to get in with the time period that we had, but we got some good sparring in.
“And the sessions we got in were good, but when I got into the ring, it was a little hard for me to pull the trigger as people saw.
“My timing was very off. I would come back to the ring and be like, ‘Damn, why can’t I pull the trigger?
“I had those moments, but it’s okay. I’m glad I got to experience a lot of things. That’s it in boxing. There are a lot of things I had to go through that I never thought I’d have to experience in life. But sometimes it’s like that.”
Against Zhang, there will be more danger for Wilder. The ‘Banger’ will aim to take him out from the first bell in Saudi Arabia if the fight gets finalized in the coming days.
Another loss, and a knockout one at that, will undoubtedly be the end of the line for Deontay Wilder.
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