Deontay Wilder promises his best against Zhilei Zhang: 'The Bronze Bomber is coming'

Deontay Wilder says he will return to his old fighting style when he faces Zhilei Zhang on June 1.

Wilder is known for being a knockout artist. His record stands at 43–3-1. 42 of his wins have come by knockout. However, his recent performances have been poor. He has one win in his last four fights. Tyson Fury stopped him in consecutive fights. He bounced back with a first-round KO win over Robert Helenius, showing he still had the power.

But his last performance against Joseph Parker was under par. Wilder decided to box on the outside rather than taking the fight to Parker. He consistently failed to throw his right hand while his jab went missing. He lost a one-sided unanimous decision, only winning a single round on the judges’ scorecards. But during the build-up to this fight, Wilder promises a return to his old self. He spoke about wanting a body on his record, something he has previously mentioned that drew mass controversy. 

Wilder’s Aim

“They [media and authorities] said how I wasn’t so good for boxing because I wanted a body on my record. But now you get these people, the Saudis, involved and they said, ‘We want that monster back, we want that killer back, we want the man who speaks like that’.

“And when you have people like that who appreciate you for what that is, it makes you want to change back quickly. I’ve got the green light that I can be that and not be judged. I can be that and not be crucified “When I did it earlier everybody crucified me, stuck me with thorns and stabbed me,” Wilder said 

But at 38, there are question marks over whether his body can deliver. Zhang is a very dangerous southpaw who can stop his opponents. Despite losing to Parker in his last fight, Zhang dropped him twice. If the Chinese does something similar to Wilder, there is no guarantee that he will get up. But Wilder has promised the fans a big performance based on how he is feeling. 

Wilder On Zhang