Useless fight, neither fighter goes anywhere after this. Good fight for the fans? Maybe..
In the fight, I expect Zhang to do a whole lot of posing like he did with Parker, and I expect Wilder to do a whole lot of posing like he always does
Basically, nothing will happen during most of the fight until something finally happens and someone gets knocked out
As for the guy who recently beat both Wilder and Zhang, the guy who also lost a dubiously reffed bout against Joshua 6 years ago...
Do you fancy Joshua's chances against him now ?
Close call!
In fact, the top 5 or 6 are tightly nested I think. A great night for one and an off night for the other; anyone can beat anyone. Josh and Parker are on the UP at the moment. Fury and Wilder are presently on the DOWN, but these positions are precarious as could be.
I don't think Wilder hit him.
And he'd he better get back to better for for Zhang.
Im sure Wilder hit him. Contrary to popular belief, Wilder doesnt ko you with the first punch of his he lands? Zhang might hit harder but its always interesting to take a common opponents take on it. THats why Parkers opinion is of interest. Fury said Wilder hits harder than Francis.
Maybe after the fight, either Zhang or Wilder can tell us who hit harder out of the 2. Sure would be unexpected for Wilder to admit Zhang hits harder than himself.
If Wilder comes forward and fights with aggression, he wins by early KO.
If Wilder is timid like he was against Parker he gets rocked and stopped and probably retired.
hellz no!!! if wilder come out swinging, he gets slept!!! zhang has showed to be a better boxer/puncher than wilder...
wilder throws wild looping punches, he's gonna get slept!
to beat zhang, you gotta box and move to tired him out. if you bang with him, you gon get zhang'd.
I like A.J.s chances with Fury better than anyone's at present, but Zhang and Especially Wilder remain bad matchups for Joshua, at least until they prove they are shot.
As for the guy who recently beat both Wilder and Zhang, the guy who also lost a dubiously reffed bout against Joshua 6 years ago...
Do you fancy Joshua's chances against him now ?
I think Turki hopes Wilder can still throw a big right and KO Zhang, so that they can make AJ -Wilder. I see no other reason why is Wilder getting another pay day after that miserable performance against Parker.
Saudis are obviously over fascinated with these big heavyweigts.
I would love to see Kabayel in a big fight soon.
Wilder might be old and past it. Happens to them all eventually. But I'm not reading much into that fight against Parker. Parker was very picky about when and how much to engage and Wilder didn't engage at all, like a man sitting on the shelf for 26 months. A foolish fight for Wilder to take and tune-ups against < top 10s were needed. Joshua's hot again but has had worse performances than that, and not by a little.
I see giving the guy with more title fight wins than anyone else in the era another go, but I wish it wasn't potentially at the expense of the Chinese folk hero.
Prognosticating further, I like A.J.s chances with Fury better than anyone's at present, but Zhang and Especially Wilder remain bad matchups for Joshua, at least until they prove they are shot.
I think Turki hopes Wilder can still throw a big right and KO Zhang, so that they can make AJ -Wilder. I see no other reason why is Wilder getting another pay day after that miserable performance against Parker.
Saudis are obviously over fascinated with these big heavyweigts.
I would love to see Kabayel in a big fight soon.
This is a good fight for both at this stage in their career. Wilder is probably ageing, probably not. I can't tell based on his Parker fight because he was out of the ring for two years and on some drugs while Parker is obviously in top shape. But Wilder has a lot more gas than Zhang and can take punches, only if he has the courage he used to have - the fight can be interesting. But if he is a 96 kilos ayahuasca guy - he better quit boxing.
The rematch clause only applies if the Saudi dude wants it to apply.
Same with the rematch clause for Fury/Usyk.
If the dude decides he doesn't wanna see a rematch, there is no rematch. Because he's bankrolling the thing.
That is the right answer.
I don`t know why everybody thinks Fury and Usyk will have a rematch. They will have it if his excellency decides so. If he decides otherwise, there will be no rematch for Saudis money.
Zhang has many ways to victory, Wilder has a puncher’s chance. Twerkin’ Deontay going down for good.
If Wilder manages to survive to late rounds his chance of landing his bombs goes up.
Great goodbye fight for the loser and a good scalp for the winner either way.
Dubois vs Hrgovic also a good fight. Two guys with lots of power but little to no defensive game. Gotta favor Hrgovic for his chin seems much better so far.
Great matchups both.
Theyre both old. I never seen wilder afraid to throw like he was last fight, it was weird.
I don't think he was afraid. The trigger isnt the same after Fury. Parker is also a hard target like Spilka. And he needed to measure and time perfect to catch Spilka around his best form. Zhang is a southpaw ox and southpaws love the straight right. He'll get it off clean but what is left of it?
Theyre both old. I never seen wilder afraid to throw like he was last fight, it was weird. zhang has always been slow. Not a bad match up, they both had problems with parker's movement, they both will be readily available targets for each other.
Of course Zhang hit harder
he actually floored Parker twice with short shots
Parker Didn’t even feel Wilders power. Yes Wilder did land
wilder only fought 1 super heavy his entire career and he’s 0-3 with 0 KOs
Zhang fought an even sturdier super heavy and KOed him both times
Zhang v wilder is a good fight. I'm sure Saudis sick of rematches. Has Parker mentioned who hits harder out of Zhang and wilder?
I don't think Wilder hit him.
And he'd he better get back to better for for Zhang.
I hope they can at least get the pacing right. Near an hour between fights is obnoxious. That's been the biggest issue so far.
The most recent card had 10 fights and lasted 10 hours. It's a serious issue that needs to be solved. Not everyone will care because most people don't watch the prelim fights. They probably could've done the entire card in 5-6 hours.
Source? It would be hilarious if true. Wilder goes from calling Hearn a slave-master iirc to signing a MR contract, how the tables have turned.
Think it was in an IFl interview. They asked if Matchroom is signing Wilder, Eddie initially denied it, but then admitted there are a lot of conversations and anything can happen, but he has a big mouth so needs to say less.
There can only be so many fights on one card. The Saudi cards seem to be getting progressively longer. Whatever the plans are, I hope they stop that trend.
June 1st: Beterbiev/Bivol, Parker/Joyce 2, Wilder/Zhang, Hrgovic/Dubois, plus the 5v5 tourney would be ridiculous. Just have the 5v5 as its own card with Hrgovic/Dubois included....and add 2 more bouts to the Beterbiev/Bivol undercard. Guys like Sanchez and Kabayel need fights too.
I hope they can at least get the pacing right. Near an hour between fights is obnoxious. That's been the biggest issue so far.
Didn't see it mentioned, but Matchroom are signing Wilder apparently.
That's how it fits with the 5v5 undercard.
Source? It would be hilarious if true. Wilder goes from calling Hearn a slave-master iirc to signing a MR contract, how the tables have turned.
pollywog, I was responding to the rumor of Joyce/Parker 2. AJ/Parker 2 is even better imho. I'd prefer Joyce vs. Whyte.
But most of those fights are being tied to the June 1 undercard...
There can only be so many fights on one card. The Saudi cards seem to be getting progressively longer. Whatever the plans are, I hope they stop that trend.
June 1st: Beterbiev/Bivol, Parker/Joyce 2, Wilder/Zhang, Hrgovic/Dubois, plus the 5v5 tourney would be ridiculous. Just have the 5v5 as its own card with Hrgovic/Dubois included....and add 2 more bouts to the Beterbiev/Bivol undercard. Guys like Sanchez and Kabayel need fights too.