Sources – Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang finalizing June 1 bout،
Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang are finalizing a deal for a June 1 fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources tell ESPN.
The heavyweight clash between two of boxing's most dangerous punchers will take place on the undercard of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol undisputed light heavyweight championship fight.
Both Wilder and Zhang will enter the ring in desperate pursuit of a victory to remain relevant in boxing's glamor division. Both fighters are reeling from decision defeats to Joseph Parker in Riyadh. The former heavyweight titleholder pulled off a major upset in December with a points victory over the American that spoiled plans for a long-awaited clash between Anthony Joshua and Wilder.
Joshua then brutally knocked out Francis Ngannou instead, and on this undercard earlier this month, Parker scored another upset with a decision victory over Zhang, who floored Parker twice in the fight but won by elsewhere been sent.
Rather than following the usual route of comeback fights in boxing, Wilder and Zhang will now embark on a high-stakes bout that will position the winner for another marquee bout at heavyweight. Two weeks earlier, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will compete for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Riyadh.
Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KO) is one of the division's all-time biggest punchers. But the Alabama fighter has lost three of his last four fights. Two of those losses came in the championship trilogy with Fury. Fury scored a seventh-round TKO in the 2020 rematch, then an 11th-round knockout the following year that was named Fight of the Year and KO of the Year by ESPN.
Wilder, ESPN's No. 7 heavyweight, is a former heavyweight champion who dropped Fury four times in three fights. He's 38, and although he's an inch taller than Zhang, he estimates he concedes nearly 80 pounds to the much heavier Zhang. Wilder weighed 213 pounds in the loss to Parker.
Zhang will be 41 years old on fight night. He is ESPN's No. 6 heavyweight and a left-handed puncher who is lightweight considering his enormous size. The Chinese fighter stands 6-foot-6 and weighed 291.5 pounds in the loss to Parker.
Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KO) broke out last year with two stoppage victories over Joe Joyce. His previous loss came against Filip Hrgovic, a fighter he also knocked down.
