Deontay Wilder to face Zhilei Zhang in 5 vs. 5 main event

FIGHT WEEK

Deontay Wilder is scheduled to face Zhilei Zhang in the primary occasion of the Queensberry and Matchroom 5 vs. 5 pay-per-view card Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DEONTAY WILDER (43-3-1, 42 KOs)VS. ZHILEI ZHANG (26-2-1, 21 KOs)

Date: Saturday, June 1
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (primary occasion later in present)
The place: Kingdom Area, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TV/Stream: DAZN Pay-Per-View
Division: Heavyweight (no restrict)
At stake: No main titles
Boxing Junkie Pound-for-pound: None
Odds: Zhang 1½-1 favourite (common of a number of retailers)
Significance (as much as 5 stars): *****
Additionally on the cardboard: Filip Hrgovic vs. Daniel Dubois, heavyweights; Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad, mild heavyweights (for Bivol’s WBA title); Raymond Ford vs. Nick Ball, featherweights (for Ford’s WBA title); Austin Williams vs. Hamzah Sheeraz, middleweights; Craig Richards vs. Willy Hutchinson, mild heavyweights
Background: Dmitry Bivol was scheduled to combat fellow 175-pound titleholder Artur Beterbiev in the primary occasion of the Queensberry and Matchroom 5 vs. 5 card however the matchup was postponed after Beterbiev was injured in coaching. The present goes on, with Deontay Wilder going through Zhilei Zhang in the primary occasion and Bivol defending his belt towards Malik Zinad in a stay-busy combat. Wilder is at a crossroads. The hard-punching former heavyweight titleholder is 1-3 in his final 4 fights, with knockout losses towards Tyson Fury in 2020 and 2021 and a one-sided resolution setback towards Joseph Parker on the Anthony Joshua-Otto Wallin card in December. The 38-year-old Alabamian’s solely victory within the final four-plus years was a first-round stoppage of Robert Helenius in October 2022. A victory over Zhang may result in yet another title shot. One other loss may finish his profession as an elite fighter, notably if he’s not aggressive. Zhang, a 41-year-old from China, had constructed appreciable momentum with back-to-back knockouts of Joe Joyce final 12 months. Nonetheless, he took a step backward with a majority resolution loss to Parker though he put the winner down twice in March. A victory would hold Zhang within the hunt for a title combat. Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs), ranked No. 4 pound-for-pound, shouldn’t have an excessive amount of bother with Zinad (22-0, 16 KOs). The Malta-based Libyan has an ideal report however is taking an unlimited step up in opposition. He’s ranked No. 2 by the IBF. Additionally on the cardboard, Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) will probably be preventing to keep up their positions as prime contenders. Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is coming off a first-round KO of Mark De Mori on the Joshua-Wallin card. Dubois bounced again from his knockout loss to Oleksandr Usyk by stopping Jarrell Miller within the tenth and last spherical, additionally on the Joshua-Wallin present. And 126-pound titleholder Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) will defend his belt towards Nick Ball (19-0-1, 8 KOs). Ford, a 25-year-old from New Jersey, is coming off a sensational stoppage of Otabek Kholmatov with solely seven seconds remaining in a combat he was dropping on the playing cards to win the vacant WBA title. Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) is coming off a powerful efficiency, a cut up draw towards WBC beltholder Rey Vargas in March. The 27-year-old from the U.Ok. outpointed Isaac Dogboe earlier than that.

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

FRIDAY

Brandon Adams vs. Francisco Veron, junior middleweights, Houston (DAZN)

SATURDAY

Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal, mild heavyweights, Inglewood, California (pay-per-view)