RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Deontay Wilder crashed to the canvas, a pair of crushing right hands from Zhilei Zhang sending him there, and in that moment we were reminded that boxing ends are rarely graceful.
Kevin McBride battered Mike Tyson, Manny Pacquiao carved up Oscar De La Hoya, Joe Smith knocked Bernard Hopkins straight out of the ring. A violent sport leads to violent finishes and on Saturday, Wilder, stopped in the fifth round of his heavyweight showdown with Zhang, appeared to meet his.
There was no official retirement announcement from Wilder on Saturday. He exited the ring without an interview and left Kingdom Arena without speaking to reporters. But the loss to Zhang was Wilder’s second straight. His fourth in his last five fights. He has won once since 2019—a first-round stoppage of Robert Helenius in 2022—and has been knocked out in three of his last five. All week, Wilder insisted that if he didn’t perform on Saturday, it was likely over. After landing 16 punches over four-plus rounds, it likely is.
