Johnny Nelson is worried for ‘fragile’ Deontay Wilder in his next fight with Zhilei Zhang
Former cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson MBE has told BetVictor that Deontay Wilder will lose his heavyweight contest with Zhilei Zhang on June 1st.
Wilder has been beaten in three of his last four fights, most recently to Joseph Parker in December 2023, and Nelson believes his career will take another step back in Saudi Arabia.
“I think we’ve seen the best of Deontay Wilder,” he said. “Against Joseph Parker, he looked fragile. We can put it down to a bad performance or that he just looked old.
“Zhilei Zhang is an even bigger version of Parker but he can be hit. Wilder will have to depend on the one thing he has lacked in his career and that’s boxing ability. Against Parker, I didn’t see that sting, that punch power.
“I don’t think he’ll win against Zhang and that’s a shame because if he does win that fight, he’d probably face Anthony Joshua next. He should’ve been in line to take on Joshua already but he lost to Parker.”
The American “Bronze Bomber” has already stated his intentions to “destroy” Zhang, and British heavyweight Frazer Clarke agrees, siding with the former WBC champion to win after a five-round shootout.