Zhilei Zhang enjoyed another ‘Big Bang.’

The still relevant heavyweight contender perhaps sent Deontay Wilder into retirement after a fifth-round knockout win. Zhang ended the fight with two right hooks, the latter which floored the former WBC heavyweight titlist. Wilder beat the count but was unable to continue their main event Saturday evening from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The official time was 1:51 of the fifth round in their DAZN pay-per-view headliner. Zhang provided a clean sweep for Queensberry, who defeated Matchroom 10-0 in the long-hyped 5-vs-5 tournament.

He also enjoyed immediate redemption after a disappointing loss to Joseph Parker three months ago in this very venue.

“When I lost to Joseph Parker, it was a fair decision,” Zhang said through translator and longtime team member Kurt Li. “He was the better man that night. I do think I learned a lot from that fight. After I knocked out Joe Joyce twice, I was overconfident. I learned that I had to stay focused.”

Action was slow out the gate, though right in line with the scouting report. Zhang and Wilder statistically throw fewer punchers than every other active contender in the sport.  Both fighters pawed with their respective jabs, while Wilder kept his right hand cocked for the entire round. The opening never presented itself, as Zhang was prepared for Wilder’s money shot.

Zhang picked up his offense in the second round. He connected with an uppercut, though Wilder steadied himself and landed with a right uppercut of his own. Momentum quickly shifted back to Zhang as Wilder was at a stage in his career where he can no longer pull the trigger.

Wilder was credited with just nine landed punches through three rounds. The 38-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Alabama  tried to turn that around in the fourth. Zhang continued to come forward but didn’t provide much cause for concern.

At least not until the following round.

The irony in the knockout finish was that Wilder enjoyed success at the start of the fifth. He was able to land a right hand that at least caught Zhang’s attention. An effort to follow up produced modest results as Zhang regained control and took the lead.

Disaster struck in the form of a right hook that left Wilder out on his feet. He spun around, defenseless, as Zhang moved in to close the show. Another right hook by the 41-year-0ld southpaw sent Wilder sprawling to the canvas for the bout’s lone knockdown.

Referee Kieran McCann issued his count as Wilder scrambled to his feet. He was unable to steady himself to the point of allowing action to resume as McCann waved his arms to end the fight.

The win came three months after Zhang (27-2-1, 23 knockouts) after his March 8 letdown at this same arena. Parker (35-3, 23 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3-rated heavyweight, overcame two knockdowns to earn a majority decision victory.

Zhang entered the fight on the heels of back-to-back knockouts of Joe Joyce. The loss to Parker ended his interim WBO title reign, though he is right back in the heavyweight mix after Saturday’s performance.

“I had to guard against [Wilder’s] right hand,” noted Zhang. “I blocked most of his punches. He still punched very hard, though.”

The same cannot be said for Wilder (43-4-1, 42KOs)—at all.

Wilder has now lost four of his last five starts, including three knockout defeats. He was stopped twice by Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs), The Ring’s No. 1-rated heavyweight. Their Feb. 2020 rematch ended Wilder’s five-year WBC title reign, having defended the belt ten times.

It very well served as the beginning of the end for one of the most potent knockout artists in heavyweight history.

Wilder floored Fury twice but was down three times in an eleventh-round knockout defeat in their epic Oct. 2021 trilogy. He bounced back with a first-round knockout of Robert Helenius one year later, which remains the final win of his career.

A fourteen-month inactive period preceded Wilder’s lopsided points loss to Parker last Dec. 23 in Riyadh. He dismissed it as an off night and insisted that Saturday would mark a return to glory. That promise also came with the vow that he’d call it a career with a loss.

Meanwhile, new life was breathed into Zhang’s career, for those who thought the Parker loss ended his late surge.

“The Big Bang is still here,” insisted Zhang.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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