Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang Preview June 1st, 2024
Former WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder of Tuscaloosa, Alabama returns to the ring on Saturday, June 1st when he takes on former WBO Interim Boss Zhilei Zhang of China. The 12-round bout from Saudi Arabia can be seen live in most nations on on DAZN pay-per-view. Wilder last fought in December when he lost a wide unanimous decision to Joseph Parker while Zhang also lost to Parker in his last outing in March when he dropped a 12-round majority decision and lost his Interim Belt.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Wilder vs Zhang Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Deontay Wilder +130
- Zhilei Zhang -160
My Pick
The 38-year-old Wilder beat former champ Bermane Stiverne by unanimous decision in January, 2015 to claim the WBC title and lost it to Tyson Fury in his 11th defence in 2020 when he was stopped in the seventh round. Wilder and Fury had fought to a draw in 2018 and Fury then stopped him in the 11th round in their trilogy match in 2021. Before running into Stiverne, Wilder had stopped all 32 of his opponents including Malik Scott, Owen Beck and Audley Harrison and the Bronze Bomber will climb into the ring this weekend with a fine record of 43-3-1 with 42 Ko’s.
Wilder is a former Olympic bronze medalist who became the first American since Shannon Briggs in 2007 to own a portion of the heavyweight title when he beat Stiverne. Wilder is basically known for two things, which are his size and his power as he stands 6-feet-7-inches tall with an 83-inch reach and has stopped every man he’s faced except Stiverne in their first meeting as well as Fury in their three fights and Parker.
However, he stopped Stiverne with a second remaining in the first round of their November 2017 rematch and dropped Fury in the ninth and 12th rounds during their draw in their first meeting and decked him twice in the fourth round of their third fight. He didn’t manage to drop Parker though. Therefore, Wilder has dropped every single opponent he’s faced as a pro except one even though Fury remained on his feet in the second bout. Wilder now has 174 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2008 and 97.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage while just six of his 42 KO victims made it past the fifth round.
However, they were six of his last 14 opponents; Luis Ortiz (twice), Eric Molina, Johann Duhaupas, Artur Szpilka and Chris Arreola. So in general, Wilder’s fights are lasting longer than they were earlier in his career even though he destroyed Dominic Breazeale in 137 seconds in May, 2019 and took out Robert Helenius in the first round in 2022. As for the ability to take a punch, Wilder was nailed hard by Ortiz in their first fight and of course by Fury, but he showed showed resilience and a lot of heart in those fierce battles.
The southpaw Zhang is now 41 years old and has a fine mark of 26-2-1 with 21 Ko’s with his controversial 12-round unanimous decision loss to Filip Hrgovic in 2022 being his first pro defeat and the loss to Parker his second. His record is also built on power as 80.8 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage including his last five. He’s boxed just 105 rounds since turning pro in 2014 and has gone 10 rounds twice and 12 rounds twice. The first time he went the distance was in 2019 when he beat Andriy Rudenko by unanimous decision to retain his WBO Oriental Heavyweight Title which he won back in 2017 with a first-round stoppage of Peter Graham.
He fought to a 10-round draw with Jerry Forrest in February, 2021 after dropping Forrest in each of the first three rounds and then having a point deducted for holding in the ninth round. Zhang completely ran out of gas in that fight and seemed to be out on his feet several times from pure exhaustion but managed to see the final bell. He went 12 rounds with Hrgovic in 2022 and lost 115-112, 115-12 and 114-113 on the judges’ scorecards.
Zhang measures 6-feet-6-inches with an 80-inch wingspan so gives up an inch in height and three inches in reach to Wilder. He won the WBO Interim Title in April last year when he stopped Joe Joyce in the sixth round and then stopped him in the third round of their rematch five months later. He also has wins over Scott Alexander, Devin Vargas, Byron Polley, Curtis Harper, Mark Brown Galen Brown, Curtis Harper and Don Haynesworth.
Even at his age, Zhang is now making a name for himself around the world as a pro due to his power and he also enjoyed quite a fine amateur career. Zhang, who now fights out of New Jersey, won a silver medal for China as a super heavyweight at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as well as a bronze medal at the world amateur championships in 2007 and 2009. He was beaten in the amateurs by Grzegorz Kielsa, Odlanier Solis, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Roberto Cammarelle and Anthony Joshua but had a win over Parker.
Prediction…
Both boxers have the power to instantly turn a fight around with one punch but neither of them are young men anymore as Wilder is 38 and Zhang is 41. Wilder looked a shell of himself against Parker the last time out while Zhang dropped Parker twice but didn’t do much else. Both men have good chins and will need them. Zhang needs to get to Wilder early though as he simply tires out in his fights with each passing round. Neither man let his hands go nearly enough against Parker and both paid for it and they can’t afford to do so again this weekend. Nothing will surprise me here including a draw but I give the edge to Wilder because if this contest goes into the later rounds he has the better chance of emerging with a win.
Zhang doesn’t have the stamina to be effective over 12 rounds.
Play: Wilder +130 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Deontay Wilder betting • Zhilei Zhang betting