After knocking out Wilder in Saudi Arabia for five rounds, Zhang is aiming to fight for the World Title and face Joshua. Zhang Zhilei, who currently has a record of 27 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw, dominated the 5-on-5 finale, putting Wilder's career in trouble. Zhang's victory was the most high-profile of his career, and he was back in contention for the title after a surprise defeat to Parker just three months ago.
Zhang Zhilei said of the game against Parker: It was stupid to lose to Parker. I seriously underestimated him and I learned a lot from that game. Now I know what I can do. Zhang initially showed fear of Wilder's heavy punches, but Wild couldn't seem to hit an effective attack, so Zhang picked up the tempo.
A right hand in round five appeared to hurt Wilder, sending him staggering and turning with a mocking grin. Zhang then threw another right hand that sent Wild to the ground. Zhang Zhilei recalled the process of knocking out Wilder, saying: "When I hit the first punch, I think he lost his balance and got injured. Then I hit another punch and that's it.
Zhang Zhilei went on to say: The referee is the one in charge of the game, so we have to listen to him. He had a good reason to stop the fight, and if he hadn't stopped the fight, I would have kept throwing punches, which wouldn't have been a good outcome for Wilder. For the 41-year-old Zhang, it remains to be seen how his career will end. He's got two fights against Parker, but he's always wanted to fight Joshua, and he says he wants to win the title this year or next.