Two heavyweight contenders return to the ring as former WBC champion Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) takes on previous WBO titleholder Zhilei Zhang (26-2, 21 KOs) on Saturday, June 1. DAZN PPV will have live coverage starting at 2 p.m. ET of the battle between Britain’s top boxing promotions Queensberry and Matchroom. The action takes place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Wilder enters after an underwhelming unanimous decision loss to Joseph Parker last December. The “Bronze Bomber” held the WBC title from 2015-2020, knocking out the opposition at a high rate. Wilder then fought Tyson Fury three times, losing twice and one ending in a split decision draw. His last win was a first-round KO over Robert Helenius in 2022.
Zhang let his last bout against Joseph Parker slip away, losing his WBO belt via majority decision. It was a close fight with Zhang scoring an early third-round knockdown of Parker, but he fell short on the final scorecards. Prior to this loss, “Big Bang” had defeated Joe Joyce twice to win and retain the WBO championship.
In the co-main event, the vacant IBF heavyweight title is on the line as Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) takes on Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs). Hrgovic is the betting favorite, with -210 odds to win. Dubois enters a +165 underdog on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Also on the card, undefeated WBA and IBO light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) takes on Malik Zinad (22-0, 16 KOs). Bivol was scheduled to face Artur Beterbiev, but an injury forced Beterbiev to withdraw from this fight. Bivol is the betting favorite, with -3000 odds to win. Zinad enters the +1400 underdog on DraftKings Sportsbook.
As for the main event, Zhang is a slim -150 favorite, with Wilder entering with +120 odds to win. The favored method of victory is Zhang to win by KO (+100).
Full Card for Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang
- Main event: Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang, 12 rounds, heavyweight
- Title fight: Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic, 12 rounds, for vacant IBF heavyweight title
- Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Austin Williams, 12 rounds, middleweight
- Title fight: Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad, 12 rounds, for Bivol’s WBA light heavyweight title
- Title fight: Raymond Ford vs. Nick Ball, 12 rounds, for Ford’s WBA featherweight title
- Willy Hutchinson vs. Craig Richards, 12 rounds, light heavyweight