Former WBA super-middleweight champion George Groves has offered his prediction ahead of the upcoming ‘last chance saloon’ heavyweight showdown between Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, clearly leaning towards one of the two ageing big men.
Both Wilder and Zhang were on the wrong side of an upset win against Joseph Parker in recent months, as the Kiwi’s surge towards the peak of the heavyweight division caught the world by surprise.
Now, without their previously strong positions in the WBC and WBO respectively, the two hard-hitting giants will face off with one another on the recently-announced Matchroom versus Queensberry undercard and at ages of 38 and 40, a loss for either man could spell the end of their career.
In an interview with Betway, George Groves confidently revealed his belief that ‘The Bronze Bomber’ era is over, as a result of concerns that the American has lost that gritty determination and never say die attitude that saw him climb the heavyweight rankings and capture the WBC world title in the past.
“Zhang beats Wilder. Zhang came in really heavy against Parker and just ran out of steam. Maybe he will bide his time and try to chin him late, but I think Zhang wins.
“The problem for Wilder is, once you’ve had a big payday you start to see the softer side of life. And when you start earning really good money, the fight leaves you. In the gym, Wilder always looks really good, but he can let you down. On fight night he sometimes doesn’t perform and he looks like a novice.”
Wilder-Zhang will take place on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol undercard, accompanied by a plethora of 50/50 clashes on the June 1st bill.