'Wilder no longer a threat to Joshua' - Hearn

Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn has revealed that Deontay Wilder is no longer a big threat to Joshua after losing to Zhilei Zhang in Riyadh.

Recall that in the early hours of Sunday, Zhang knocked out Wilder in the fifth round.

The Bronze Bomber could only stumble to his feet and the referee promptly stopped the bout in Saudi Arabia to hand Zhang victory.

Reacting after the game, Hearn told The Mirror that Wilder is going through a phase that Joshua has gone through.

“He’s shown in the last two fights that he’s not the threat that he used to be, and he’s got to find the reason why. Does he not have it anymore? I don’t know.

“I said to AJ tonight, ‘For a long time, people feared Deontay Wilder. No one fears him anymore’.”

“AJ went through a little bit of that at one stage, they used to be petrified of AJ, now they’re petrified again.

"For me, it’s a personal decision for Deontay. He tried, tried to convince himself, tried in the ring… but just couldn’t do it. I just wonder whether he’s the same fighter that he was.”