During a recent interview with Sky Sports, Deontay Wilder had a few interesting things to say. It really does seem like Wilder feels a smashing and impressive winning performance against Zhilei Zhang, who we know he will face in Saudi Arabia on June 1, will lead him into some massive fights.
Wilder, who says he has got “that hunger and desire back,” suggests a big win over “Big Bang” could lead him into fights with Anthony Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk…..and Tyson Fury. As fight fans know, Wilder and Fury have already fought three times, with Fury being 2-0-1 against Wilder. The former WBC heavyweight champion says he believes he and Fury will fight a fourth fight.
“I do believe I will face Tyson Fury for a fourth time,” Wilder said. “The easiest night of the two [for me between Fury and Usyk] would probably be Oleksandr, I’ve never fought him before. Styles make fights, we’ve never fought each other so we don’t know each other, it would be different.”
Of course, Wilder has never fought Zhang before, and if Wilder were to lose on June 1 he would have to forget all about fighting Usyk, or AJ, or Fury again. But Wilder says he expects Zhang to pretty much gas out some time during the second half of their fight, stating how it will be pretty much it for the Chinese southpaw at that point in the fight.
“I’m expecting his A-plus-plus game, I like Zhang, I like him as a fighter and what he presents in the ring,” Wilder said. “Especially for the first half of the fight he seems like a true killer and somebody who is going to come and has nice technique and movement. Eventually he burns out and that might be the end of him dealing with a fighter like me, I can go. I like him, I like the fight. I love that he’s a hard hitter, I am as well, may the best man win.”
We fans sure love this fight and we are intrigued by it. If Zhang does gas and fade against Wilder he really could be in big trouble. If Wilder is Wilder in the fight, that is; the Wilder we were accustomed to seeing score, if not a KO then a knockdown or two; even against Fury. But in his last fight against Joseph Parker, Wilder appeared to be fresh out of bullets. If Wilder has lost his vaunted power, it will be him who is in big trouble in the Zhang fight.
This fight really is a fascinating match up, and numerous scenarios can be foreseen: a devastating KO by Wilder, a devastating KO by Zhang, a dull encounter where both guys play it safe, a long and punishing slugfest where both men engage in a battle of attrition. Indeed this one is tough when it comes to picking a winner. It’s not hard to make a great case for either man winning. That’s what we call a pick ’em fight.