Two heavyweights at a crossroads compete for honor and bragging rights when Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang face off on June 1.
The fight is part of a collaboration between Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom Boxing in association with Riyadh Season in Saudi Arabia. It all airs on DAZN PPV worldwide.
Wilder (43-3-1) is a former WBC heavyweight champion who went 0-2-1 with Tyson Fury for the belt. The 38-year-old was picked by Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn as the wild card, and “The Bronze Bomber” is ready to give it his all in the ring.
“We’ll see if I’ve got it or not. This fight I’m holding it as my last dance, my last chance,” Wilder said via the South China Morning Post. “I lost my love and passion for this business. I lost my hunger for so many different reasons. I’m not playing around this time. I’ve got nothing to lose.”
WATCH: Wilder vs. Zhang, live on DAZN
Zhang (26-2-1) is 2-2 in his last four fights. “Big Bang” held the interim WBO heavyweight title but lost it against a determined Joseph Parker. The Chinese fighter has 21 wins via knockout but knows he must be wary of Wilder’s legendary power.
“My defeat to Joseph Parker in March was down to my carelessness,” Zhang said to CGTN Europe via SCMP. “My tactics were not appropriate, and I didn’t manage to use some of the strategies I practiced in my training. I’ll need to guard against his heavy punches [but] my punches are also powerful, of course. I need to adjust my training accordingly.”
On the undercard, two titles are on the line, while the rest of the card features top-tier talent competing for the ultimate bragging rights.
Wilder vs. Zhang, Queensberry vs. Matchroom undercard
Here’s a breakdown of the entire action on the stacked Queensberry vs. Matchroom card.
Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad
- Division/Weight: Light Heavyweight
- Bivol record: 22-0
- Zinad record: 22-0
- Belts at stake: WBA light heavyweight title
A featured fight on the card will be Dmitry Bivol defending the WBA super lightweight title against Malik Zinad.
Bivol (22-0) won the interim WBA light heavyweight title in 2016 and was later elevated to full-time champion. The Russian has defended the full-time belt eleven times, and he became a worldwide sensation when he beat Canelo Alvarez in a one-sided affair in 2022.
Zinad (22-0) will compete in his first world title fight. He has 16 wins via knockout and outworked Jerome Pampellone to become a top contender within the IBF.
Bivol was supposed to fight Artur Beterbiev to determine the undisputed light heavyweight champion, but the latter backed out due to an injury.
Raymond Ford vs. Nick Ball
- Division/Weight: Featherweight
- Ford record: 15-0-1
- Ball record:
- Belts at stake: WBA featherweight title
Raymond Ford defends the WBA featherweight title against Nick Ball.
A two-time National Championships silver medalist, Ford (15-0-1) beat Otabek Kholmatov in March to win the vacant title. "Savage" applied the pressure throughout and won via TKO in the 12th when behind on the cards.
The contest should have been a unification fight, but Ball (19-0-1) fought Rey Vargas to a controversial draw for the WBC title in March. The English boxer challenges for a world title for the second time in two fights.
Filip Hrgovic vs. Daniel Dubois
- Division/Weight: Heavyweight
- Hrgovic record:
- Dubois record:
- Belts at stake: N/A
Filip Hrgovic faces Daniel Dubois in a heavyweight clash that may be for the vacant IBF title.
Hrgovic (17-0) has 14 wins via knockout. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist is currently the mandatory challenger for the IBF crown and he's been in that position for some time.
Dubois (20-2) is a former British, Commonwealth and WBA "regular" heavyweight champion. After losing via TKO to the great Oleksandr Usyk, the Englishman bounced back with a hard-fought stoppage win over Jarrell Miller.
MORE: Who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world?
The fight may result in the winner becoming the IBF heavyweight champion if Usyk is stripped of that title. The winner could then face Anthony Joshua later in the year.
Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Austin Williams
- Division/Weight: Middleweight
- Sheeraz record: 19-0
- Williams record: 16-0
- Belts at stake: N/A
Further down the card is Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Austin Williams.
Sheeraz (19-0) took a year off from boxing to focus on an electrician's apprenticeship after making it to the finals of the National Junior Championships three times. Since recommitting himself to the sport, his improvement has been rapid and he picked up the Commonwealth middleweight title in 2022.
Williams (16-0) competes in Saudi Arabia for the first time. A former U.S. amateur standout, "Ammo" has won eleven fights via knockout and he is highly touted.
Craig Richards vs. Willy Hutchinson
- Division/Weight: Light Heavyweight
- Hutchinson record: 18-3-1
- Richards record: 17-1
- Belts at stake: N/A
Finally, Craig Richards faces Willy Hutchinson.
Richards (18-3-1) is a former British light heavyweight champion who failed to capture the WBA light heavyweight title against Dmitry Bivol in 2021. "Spider" has since gone 2-2 in his last four fights, with those two wins coming via knockout.
MORE: After beating Fury, does Usyk join the all-time greats?
Hutchinson (17-1) is on a four-fight win streak following a loss for British and Commonwealth super middleweight gold. The 2016 Youth World Championships gold medalist is now pursuing glory in a new division.
Queensberry vs. Matchroom tune-in info
- Date: Saturday, June 1
- Location: Kingdom Arena — Saudi Arabia
- Start time: 6 p.m. ET (12 p.m. ET for prelims) | 11 p.m. BST | 8 a.m. AEST (Sun)
- How to watch: DAZN PPV: ($19.99 on a 12-month contract/$24.99 month-to-month/$224.99 annual in U.S. | $24.99 per month/$199.99 annual in Canada | £9.99 on a 12-month contract/£19.99 month-to-month/£99.99 annual in the U.K. | 13.99 AUD
- PPV Price: TBD
- Watch from anywhere via NordVPN (30-day money-back guarantee)
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