Exclusive Interview: Deontay Wilder’s Hunger Reignited as He Faces Zhilei Zhang in Epic Heavyweight Battle on June 1

The time has come for Matchroom Boxing to take on Queensberry Promotions in the much anticipated 5v5 encounter on June 1. The original main event was set to be Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev but after the injury to Beterbiev, attention now turns to Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang, and ahead of that heavyweight bout – Dan Rafael has spoken “The Bronze Bomber” about the Joseph Parker defeat, the upcoming Zhang fight and getting his hunger back.

Deontay Wilder Reflects on Mistakes

Hunger Returns After Parker Defeat

Attention quickly turned to the Parker defeat and Wilder said: “We made a lot of mistakes in the final quarter of camp.” He continued: “The main factor I feel was the inactivity.”

Reflecting on mistakes in the camp, the American fighter said: “If anything, I learn from my mistakes.”

Looking at the details of the Parker defeat: “For one, I couldn’t pull the trigger at all,” said Wilder. He continued: “Many times I seen openings and shots that I could have threw my right hand and certain things.” The Alabama native then said: “When it was time to fight, I couldn’t pull the trigger.”

Read More: Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder II: The Night Fury Returned to the Top

Rafael then dug deeper into the inability of Wilder to pull the trigger, and “The Bronze Bomber” said: “I’m far from a shot fighter.” I started late in this business. I haven’t taken a lot of damage.”

Wilder then spoke about his hunger returning: “My hunger has came back. I wasn’t hungry in that fight.” He continued: “My hunger is back because of the meetings I had with His Excellency and his staff and people.”

Deontay Wilder vs. Zhang

When asked about Zhang and what he sees in his next opponent: “He’s a good fighter as well as a southpaw. I love southpaws.”

He continued: “With him, as the rounds go on, he declines.” He added: “I’m looking to exploit that.”

Referring to the upcoming fight, Wilder said: “June 1 is going to reveal everything and everyone that’s watching is going to be a witness.”

Read More: The Five Biggest Deontay Wilder Knockouts

He added: “Nobody wanna see a 12-round fight. They wanna see someone get knocked out.”

When asked about using his jab to set up the straight right hand and whether he can return to that winning formula: “Most definitely. I can and I will.”

Listen to the exclusive interview below with Deontay Wilder as Dan Rafael and TJ Rives recap the weekend boxing action on the Big Fight Weekend/Fight Freaks Unite podcast.

Uniting Boxing

Wilder revealed how important Turki Alalshikh has been in uniting boxing, and helping his hunger return.

“It’s a beautiful time in boxing. I can’t wait for June 1st.”

He continued: “I love being in these fights.”

“Deontay Wilder is back.”