29 May 2024 , 14:53
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Deontay Wilder has admitted that he could hang up his gloves if he loses to Zhilei Zhang.
'The Bronze Bomber' retired from boxing after his consecutive defeats to Tyson Fury but returned the following year to KO Robert Helenius in one round. Wilder took another year away from the ring and looked like a shell of his old self in his comeback fight against Joseph Parker last December.
Wilder's loss to Parker ruined plans for an illustrious two-fight deal against Anthony Joshua and the American recognises his career is on the line against Zhang this Saturday. "We have a second opportunity to correct a lot of things and present myself now," he told DAZN Boxing.
"It's going to be a different fight this time around and if it's not a different fight then retirement is definitely highly, highly considered. Some people over the years have just gotten hardcore fans into boxing and some have mentioned ‘I want that Wilder back, I want to see those highlight reel moments.'
“I like the pressure because when you are under pressure, it brings the best out of you if you really want it. Unless you want to accept what you’ve already done and I don’t want to accept what I’ve already done because I feel like I have so much more to give. I want to add my name to the list of unified champions.
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Zhang also faced Parker in his last outing and lost on points despite dropping the New Zealander twice. The 38-year-old is still confident he can become a world champion again, starting with a win against Zhang.
"As long as I’m still in this business, I want to be a champion. If any fighter that’s in this business feels they don’t want to be champion, don’t get in it.
"What’s the point? You can’t say just for money because you really make the big dollars when you become the champion. If you've never been a champion before, you never know what it looks like to make some good money. I'm here to regain the titles and add my name to the list of unified heavyweight champions of the world."