Boxing

Deontay Wilder faces Zhilei Zhang in the 5 vs 5 main event

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Deontay Wilder faces Zhilei Zhang in the 5 vs 5 main event

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FIGHT WEEK

Deontay Wilder is expected to face Zhilei Zhang in the main event of Queensberry and Matchroom 5 vs. 5 pay-per-view card on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DEONTAY WILDER (43-3-1, 42 KO)
WITH. ZHILEI TRUONG (26-2-1, 21 KO)

Day: Saturday, June 1
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event will be shown later)
Where: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Television/Streaming: DAZN pay-per-view
Assignment: Heavy (unlimited)
Under threat: No major titles
Pound-for-pound boxing addict: Do not have
The odds: Zhang 1½-1 favorites (average of multiple stores)
Meaning (maximum five stars): *****
Also on the card: Filip Hrgovic vs. Daniel Dubois, heavyweight; Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad, light heavyweight (WBA title fight for Bivol); Raymond Ford vs. Nick Ball, featherweight (for Ford’s WBA title); Austin Williams vs. Middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz; Craig Richards vs. Willy Hutchinson, light heavyweight
Background: Dmitry Bivol was scheduled to fight fellow 175-pounder Artur Beterbiev in the main event of the Queensberry card and Matchroom 5 vs. 5 but the match was postponed after Beterbiev was injured during training. The show continues, with Deontay Wilder facing Zhilei Zhang in the main event and Bivol defending his belt against Malik Zinad in what is always a busy fight. Wilder is at a crossroads. The former heavyweight champion is 1-3 in his last four fights, with knockout losses to Tyson Fury in 2020 and 2021 and a one-sided decision loss to Joseph Parker on the Anthony Joshua-card. Otto Wallin in December. The 38-year-old Alabaman’s only win over the past four years was a first-round loss to Robert Helenius in October 2022. A win over Zhang could lead to another title shot. Another loss could end his career as an elite fighter, especially if he doesn’t compete. Zhang, a 41-year-old from China, built significant momentum with back-to-back knockouts of Joe Joyce last year. However, he took a step back when he lost a majority decision to Parker even though he knocked out the winner twice in March. A win would keep Zhang in the title hunt. Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs), ranked No. 4 pound-for-pound, did not have too much trouble with Zinad (22-0, 16 KOs). The Libyan-Maltese player has a perfect record but is taking a huge step forward in the opposition. He is ranked No. 2 by the IBF. Also on the cards, Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) will fight to maintain their top contender status. Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is coming off a first-round KO of Mark De Mori on the Joshua-Wallin card. Dubois bounced back from his knockout loss to Oleksandr Usyk by stopping Jarrell Miller in the 10th and final round, also on the Joshua-Wallin show. And reigning 126-pound champion Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) will defend his title against Nick Ball (19-0-1, 8 KOs). Ford, a 25-year-old from New Jersey, was coming off a sensational stoppage of Otabek Kholmatov with just seven seconds left in a fight he lost on the cards to win the vacant WBA title. Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) is coming off a strong performance, coming off a draw against WBC titlist Rey Vargas in March. Previously, the 27-year-old tennis player from the United Kingdom surpassed Isaac Dogboe.