Deontay Wilder looked like a shadow of his former self on Saturday night as he was knocked out by Zhilei Zhang.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ was as timid and gunshy as he was in his previous outing against Joseph Parker.
He spent the majority of the fight with his back against the ropes and didn’t let his hands go until the ill-fated fifth stanza where he was stunned and then knocked out by two crisp lead hooks from ‘Big Bang’.
It is clear Wilder’s best days are well behind him and the punch stats reflect that.
The former WBC heavyweight champion landed just 16.8 per cent of his shots against Zhang and averaged three scoring punches per round.
Even by Wilder’s standards – who isn’t a particularly accurate nor active puncher – this is extremely low.
Heading into the fight, CompuBox revealed that Wilder’s 34 punches thrown per round is the third-lowest average in boxing while Zhang tops the list with 29.
But against the Chinese pugilist, Wilder managed to lower his output further with an average of 19 punches per round.
His most active period came in the opening stanza where he threw 23 shots although he only landed two of them.
Zhang was even less active with an average of 16 punches thrown per round but he was very accurate with his work, landing 45.2 per cent of them.
He was particularly effective with his power punches, which he found a home for 50.9 per cent of the time.
Zhang is now expected to move onto bigger and better things having got back to winning ways following his own defeat to Parker in March.
Meanwhile, Wilder’s future in the sport hangs in the balance after the American admitted earlier this week that defeat could mark the end of his career.
“I’ve had a successful career and this is a do-or-die moment for me,” Wilder told Seconds Out.
“I don’t think the heavyweight division is exciting without Deontay Wilder in it but come Saturday night we will see.
“Will I prevail? Will I succeed? Who knows? But Saturday night is the true answer and we are going to see.
“This could be the end of the career, this could be the final farewell of Deontay Wilder if I lose. If I win, of course, I go on to bigger and better things.”