Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang | PPV - 1 June 2024

[Ruthless-RKO]

Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang leads Matchroom vs Queensberry 5 Vs 5 on June 1st

Daniel Dubois vs Filip Hrgovic, Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, Craig Richards vs Willy Hutchinson round out the undercard

After officially announcing Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev for the undipsuted light heavyweight title on June 1st and Riyadh, allegedly and Eddie Hearn took the stage with 10 masked pugilists to steadily reveal the lineup for their long-brewing 5 Vs 5 showdown.



First came Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KO), who battles Matchroom’s Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KO) in the first of two heavyweight showdowns. There’s a real chance this could turn into a title bout before fight night; Hrgovic is the IBF mandatory challenger and Dubois is no. 4, so if the winner of Usyk vs Fury vacates to honor the rematch clause, there’s no reason not to sanction it.

Down at 126, Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KO) makes the first defense of his newly acquired WBA title against Queensberry’s Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KO), whom Eddie Hearn inadvertently named early while hyping up Dubois vs Hrgovic. Ford, fresh off of shocking Otabek Kholmatov in the final seconds, was previously expected to vacate the belt and move to 130, but will instead give Ball another shot at the big time after falling agonizingly short against Rey Vargas.

At 160, Hamzah Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KO) carries the Queensberry flag against Austin “Ammo” Williams (16-0, 11 KO). Both enjoy top-five spots in multiple sanctioning bodies’ rankings and should make for a quality scrap.

15 pounds north, Matchroom calls upon Craig Richards (18-3-1, 11 KO) to fight Willy Hutchinson (17-1, 13 KO), breaking Scott’s three-for-three prediction streak. Richards is 2-2 in his last four, but gave solid accounts of himself against both Bivol and Joshua Buatsi, while the 25-year-old Hutchinson is 4-0 with four finishes since falling to Lennox Clarke in 2021.

As for the wildcard heavyweight pick, Zhang Zhilei (26-2-1, 21 KO) reps Queensberry against Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KO). Even with their recent defeats, I don’t need to sell you on this one; it might as well be a sanctioned pistol duel.

Rather than just do best of five, each fight gives the winning promoter two points for a finish or one point for a decision, with the captains (Sheeraz and Wilder) receiving double points.

[Ruthless-RKO]

This is now the main event of the 5-5 card

[Ruthless-RKO]

Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol postponed due to injury, rest of card goes on

Artur Beterbiev is injured, and his scheduled June 1 fight with Dmitry Bivol will be postponed.

Turki Alalshikh confirmed the news this evening. The rest of the June 1 card, featuring the Queensberry vs Matchroom 5v5 series, will go on as planned.

It’s not a new story for boxing fans, who have seen the 39-year-old Beterbiev fight just 20 times in an 11-year pro career partially because repeated injuries issues have been a plague on his activity. There were other reasons, too, but any Beterbiev fight seems about a 50/50 bet to actually happen on its originally scheduled date at this point, and this one won’t.

Bivol (22-0, 11 KO) and Beterbiev will be fighting for the undisputed light heavyweight championship, as Bivol holds the WBA title and Beterbiev owns the WBC, IBF, and WBO belts. It’s a long-awaited fight and one of the best to be made in all of boxing, so fans will be ready whenever Artur is.

The June 1 main event will now be Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang, both coming off of losses but also figuring to be such a potentially fascinating style matchup with two big-hitting heavyweights that this doesn’t matter as much as it normally might.

Beterbiev vs Bivol was already not going to be part of the pay-per-view portion of the show, as the fight was to air exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States, with the remainder of the show going through DAZN PPV, an odd set-up that now doesn’t even matter, it’s just a DAZN PPV.

[SeanBrennan]

Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol postponed due to injury, rest of card goes on

Artur Beterbiev is injured, and his scheduled June 1 fight with Dmitry Bivol will be postponed.

Turki Alalshikh confirmed the news this evening. The rest of the June 1 card, featuring the Queensberry vs Matchroom 5v5 series, will go on as planned.

It’s not a new story for boxing fans, who have seen the 39-year-old Beterbiev fight just 20 times in an 11-year pro career partially because repeated injuries issues have been a plague on his activity. There were other reasons, too, but any Beterbiev fight seems about a 50/50 bet to actually happen on its originally scheduled date at this point, and this one won’t.

Bivol (22-0, 11 KO) and Beterbiev will be fighting for the undisputed light heavyweight championship, as Bivol holds the WBA title and Beterbiev owns the WBC, IBF, and WBO belts. It’s a long-awaited fight and one of the best to be made in all of boxing, so fans will be ready whenever Artur is.

The June 1 main event will now be Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang, both coming off of losses but also figuring to be such a potentially fascinating style matchup with two big-hitting heavyweights that this doesn’t matter as much as it normally might.

Beterbiev vs Bivol was already not going to be part of the pay-per-view portion of the show, as the fight was to air exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States, with the remainder of the show going through DAZN PPV, an odd set-up that now doesn’t even matter, it’s just a DAZN PPV.

thanks Ruthless, still a great card isn't it. Do you think Wilder will win? I think he will by stoppage.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol postponed due to injury, rest of card goes on

Artur Beterbiev is injured, and his scheduled June 1 fight with Dmitry Bivol will be postponed.

Turki Alalshikh confirmed the news this evening. The rest of the June 1 card, featuring the Queensberry vs Matchroom 5v5 series, will go on as planned.

It’s not a new story for boxing fans, who have seen the 39-year-old Beterbiev fight just 20 times in an 11-year pro career partially because repeated injuries issues have been a plague on his activity. There were other reasons, too, but any Beterbiev fight seems about a 50/50 bet to actually happen on its originally scheduled date at this point, and this one won’t.

Bivol (22-0, 11 KO) and Beterbiev will be fighting for the undisputed light heavyweight championship, as Bivol holds the WBA title and Beterbiev owns the WBC, IBF, and WBO belts. It’s a long-awaited fight and one of the best to be made in all of boxing, so fans will be ready whenever Artur is.

The June 1 main event will now be Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang, both coming off of losses but also figuring to be such a potentially fascinating style matchup with two big-hitting heavyweights that this doesn’t matter as much as it normally might.

Beterbiev vs Bivol was already not going to be part of the pay-per-view portion of the show, as the fight was to air exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States, with the remainder of the show going through DAZN PPV, an odd set-up that now doesn’t even matter, it’s just a DAZN PPV.

thanks Ruthless, still a great card isn't it. Do you think Wilder will win? I think he will by stoppage.

If he fights like his old self, then Yh.

[SeanBrennan]

same feeling here Ruthless.

[Frostieballs]

I think Wilder is getting knocked out - early.

[NazNaci1]

I think Wilder is getting knocked out - early.

Me too.

[SeanBrennan]

I think Wilder is getting knocked out - early.

Me too.

interesting, I think there is big risk of it but I hope he wins

[KiwiRider]

Both guys are there to be hit.
Wilder's greatest risk is not landing the right hand flush and Zhang (who is surprisingly good at) counters with his power shot.

Speed: Wilder
Power: both
Boxing: Zhang
Stamina: Wilder
Movement: neither
Chin: Zhang with honourable mention to Wilder.

Still see Zhang finishing it in under 4 rounds.

[Grilling Machine]

Feels like a hard fight for Wilder unless proven otherwise. He can outlast Zhang but likely not outbox him early, so if he goes for points it could be tight.

And it probably comes down to the first clean shot if he goes windmill, which I'd favour Zhang to find more often than not. I'd say Wilder's best bet is to backfoot it for the first half and look for the stoppage late. Hide and seek.

[Frostieballs]

For me the outcome is obvious based on recent fights.

Wilder really struggled with Parker. Found him hard to hit.

Zhang had Parker in all kinds of trouble a couple of times. Arguably should have won the fight and wasn’t massively outboxed.

Zhang won’t struggle to find Wilder, who just isn’t good enough to stay out of trouble and box his way to a points victory. Parker almost had him out of there.

Zhang inside 4/5.

[Grilling Machine]

Might be one of those where you make two surefire bets and neither comes in! Zhang with a late stoppage from behind, say.

I'll be pretty amazed if it's not a fun fight come the end though. Could be some dull rounds along the way.

[Coco]

Def a fun fight, both come to have a go

The Parker fights were there only boring ones

[TBA]

Probably wildly wrong on this. But I reckon Zhang puts Wilder on his ass early and then gets his lights put out going after the KO shortly after.

[TheLeprechaun]

Mismatch.

Remember that Wilder in most of his fights has been losing the fights until he lands one punch. He has no jab and a poor defence. One of the poorest heavyweight champions we've seen. People think he has declined but was he also declined when he lost rounds to Eric Molina, got rocked several times and had to come back from adversity in the fight? Even a gassed Zhang should be comfortably outboxing him if Wilder makes it past round 4 which I doubt.

[tonyevs]

For me the outcome is obvious based on recent fights.

Wilder really struggled with Parker. Found him hard to hit.

Zhang had Parker in all kinds of trouble a couple of times. Arguably should have won the fight and wasn’t massively outboxed.

Zhang won’t struggle to find Wilder, who just isn’t good enough to stay out of trouble and box his way to a points victory. Parker almost had him out of there.

Zhang inside 4/5.

This

If Zhangs punch doesn't do it early .. which I think it will, then his weight and physical strength will wear Wilder down. As bad as Zhangs stamina is, Wilder will barely be able to stand after 5/6 rounds of Zhangs pressuring him.

[TheLeprechaun]

There is a chance Wilder just puts in another stinker and loses on points. He hasn't got the ability to win rounds with boxing skills, never had.

[SeanBrennan]

There is a chance Wilder just puts in another stinker and loses on points. He hasn't got the ability to win rounds with boxing skills, never had.

he wasn't a terrible boxer, he medalled at the Olympics with barely 2 years experience.

[TheLeprechaun]

There is a chance Wilder just puts in another stinker and loses on points. He hasn't got the ability to win rounds with boxing skills, never had.

he wasn't a terrible boxer, he medalled at the Olympics with barely 2 years experience.

Wilder was incredibly fortunate. Before 2008, the level of qualifiers to get to the Olympics from the PanAm region was pretty low. This was tightened up by the AIBA after 2008. Wilder qualified by beating three PanAm boxers who were frankly not that good, winning by a single point against two of them and drawing with the other. Even on a countback that fight was a draw and the judges had to confer and Wilder was given the victory. At the Olympics he beat a poor qualifier from Algeria who acheive nothing and retired afterwards. He then fought a Moroccan and was losing up until the final 30 seconds when he got two points he really didn't deserve imo and the Moroccan lost on a countback. Russo then very easily outclassed him. Keep in mind just before the Olympic qualifiers in 2008, WIlder fought Evgeny Romanov who was ranked number 2 in Russia and got easily stopped. I give Wilder credit for medaling on two years experience but it doesn't mean he was a top amateur at all. As a pro he has regularly dropped rounds and really only ever had one punch in his arsenal which consistently bailed him out. It's a reflection of how poor the division was, rather than how good Wilder is. He will go down as one of the worst heavyweight champs in my book. The wins over Ortiz are good but again, he lost every round in those fights that he didn't drop Ortiz in.

[SeanBrennan]

There is a chance Wilder just puts in another stinker and loses on points. He hasn't got the ability to win rounds with boxing skills, never had.

he wasn't a terrible boxer, he medalled at the Olympics with barely 2 years experience.

Wilder was incredibly fortunate. Before 2008, the level of qualifiers to get to the Olympics from the PanAm region was pretty low. This was tightened up by the AIBA after 2008. Wilder qualified by beating three PanAm boxers who were frankly not that good, winning by a single point against two of them and drawing with the other. Even on a countback that fight was a draw and the judges had to confer and Wilder was given the victory. At the Olympics he beat a poor qualifier from Algeria who acheive nothing and retired afterwards. He then fought a Moroccan and was losing up until the final 30 seconds when he got two points he really didn't deserve imo and the Moroccan lost on a countback. Russo then very easily outclassed him. Keep in mind just before the Olympic qualifiers in 2008, WIlder fought Evgeny Romanov who was ranked number 2 in Russia and got easily stopped. I give Wilder credit for medaling on two years experience but it doesn't mean he was a top amateur at all. As a pro he has regularly dropped rounds and really only ever had one punch in his arsenal which consistently bailed him out. It's a reflection of how poor the division was, rather than how good Wilder is. He will go down as one of the worst heavyweight champs in my book. The wins over Ortiz are good but again, he lost every round in those fights that he didn't drop Ortiz in.

How dare you come back at me with facts and knowledge Leprechaun, you monster!

Also good points made there. I'm always happy to learn from others on the forum.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[DrDuke]

The Chinese Powah destroys the Bombed Bummer.

[Cask]

No secrets if you followed him





even back then it was windmill , he still look
A like he's on skates

[Cask]

Seriously tiny improvement over 15 years , smoke mirrors were with to be fair some definitely rough fights, but he helped make them that way