Zhilei Zhang added to his highlight reel with a devastating finish of Deontay Wilder in the main event of 5 vs. 5: Queensberry vs. Matchroom.
The event at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, featured showdowns between boxing promotions, with Zhang vs. Wilder at the top of the bill in a heavyweight clash that was sure to produce fireworks. At 1:51 of Round 5, it would be Zhang who lit the fuse and detonated a vicious right hand on the chin of Wilder to close the show.
Wilder was charging forward with a left hand, but Zhang clipped him with a nice counter hook. The punch stunned Wilder, causing him to turn away from his opponent. Wilder perhaps thought he was safe momentarily as he turned around, but Zhang closed in and was right there to land the final blow.
Check out video of the finish below (via X):
ZHILEI ZHANG KNOCKS OUT WILDER IN THE 5th ROUND AND IT'S ALL OVER 😱#QueensberryVsMatchroom | Live NOW | Live on DAZN: Click link in bio to buy.#5vs5 | #RiyadhSeason | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/1Aje1O27SH
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 2, 2024
The result marked a return to the win column for China’s Zhang, 41, who entered on the heels of a majority decision loss to Joseph Parker on the Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou undercard in March.
Since being stopped by Tyson Fury in their second and third meetings, which were the first losses of his pro career, Wilder has struggled to regain momentum. He rebounded from the trilogy loss to Fury by stopping Robert Helenius in 2022, but then dropped a unanimous decision to Parker, and now suffered another brutal knockout.
