Deontay Wilder believes Oleksandr Usyk was ‘robbed’ of a knockout victory against Tyson Fury.
Usyk beat Fury via split decision in Saudi Arabia earlier this month to be crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Fury was ahead on two of the judges’ scorecards after eight rounds but was rocked by an overhand left from Usyk in the ninth and was unable to answer a flurry of heavy shots from the Ukrainian.
Referee Mark Nelson was criticised after the fight for his decision to step in and give Fury a standing count before allowing him to continue.
And Wilder agrees that Usyk should have been allowed to put Fury down on the canvas.
‘I thought it was a great fight,’ Wilder said ahead of his fight against Zhilei Zhang this Saturday.
‘I was on the fence of things, I didn’t know who was going to win.
‘I always think it’s what dog brings what bite to the fight and Oleksandr’s bite was bigger than his [Fury’s].
‘I think he [Usyk] got robbed in the ninth round of a knockout for sure… gifts, gifts, gifts were given.
‘But at the end of the day he won. Big congratulations to him and I wish him nothing but the best moving forward.’
Meanwhile, Wilder believes a loss against Zhang this weekend could be the final fight of his professional career.
‘I like Zhang, I like his fighting style, I like his big head, it’s going to be a big target to hit, it’s an easy target to hit,’ Wilder said.
‘This is like a be all and end all opportunity for us, and when it’s like that you get the best of both fighters.
‘This could be the end of my career, this could be the end of his career, it’s going to be exciting on Saturday night to see what happens.’
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