Former heavyweight disruptor Deontay Wilder's career appears to be over following his shock knockout loss on Sunday.
'The Bronze Bomber' Wilder was knocked out by Zhang Zhilei in a mega-fight in Saudi Arabia, marking his fourth loss in his last five fights and seemingly ending his title hopes.
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Chan, who enjoyed an impressive weight advantage of 30kg, ended the bout with a powerful right punch that sent Wilder to the floor in the fifth round.
Incredibly, he managed to get to his feet but struggled to stand on wobbly legs before the referee stopped the bout.
Fighting commentators around the world are saying this is a sad ending for the 38-year-old Wilder.
Boxing guru Dan Rafael said the saddest thing about this outcome is that a dream fight between Wilder and former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will never happen because of Wilder's rapid decline.
“My guess is Wilder vs Joshua will be consigned to the dustbin of boxing history,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“It will never happen, but it should have happened when they were undefeated and in the prime of their careers and it would have been an undisputed win.”
He also wrote, “A terrible fight, a violent ending. Sadly it's over for Wilder. There's nothing left.”
“It's definitely over for Wilder,” wrote Michael Benson, a prominent British boxing journalist.
ESPN's Mike Coppinger declared Wilder “outdone.”
Saudi Arabian mega-fight producer Turki Al-Arshik had previously declared Wilder the ideal opponent for Joshua's next bout, which takes place at Wembley Stadium on September 21.
It looks like Joshua may have to turn to fellow Briton Daniel Dubois.
Earlier, “Dynamite” Dubois knocked out Filip Hrgovic in the eighth round, putting his career on track for a title shot.
The 26-year-old said he hoped the win would set up a super fight with Joshua in September after the referee stepped in to stop the bout in the eighth round.
The fight turned dramatically in Dubois's favor in the seventh round when a powerful punch from Dubois opened cuts above both eyes on Hrgovic.
The referee deemed it unsafe for Hrgovic to continue in the eighth round.
“I would love for AJ to be my next opponent, so I'd love for him to give me the challenge,” Dubois said after the win.
“This is my time, this is my time.”
Dubois added: “I have a lot of respect for him. It was a learning experience for me going through this. I'm happy to get the belt and move on.”
“It was a little cold at first but my corner man Frank Warren and my dad gave me some advice.
“I took some pills but it was just to wake me up. The first few pills hurt but they woke me up.
“I'm very proud of myself. This has all been a learning experience. We've come back to the top. It's like a rollercoaster ride. It's like a rollercoaster ride.”
