Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang fight predictions, start time, odds, preview, undercard, expert picks

When Deontay Wilder clashes with Zhilei Zhang inside the squared circle in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, they will be aware that winning or losing the fight will greatly impact their chances of becoming a champion. These two boxers possess immense punching power and have recently undergone a defeat, which has resulted in them plummeting down the rankings in the heavyweight category.

It's quite interesting to note that both Wilder and Zhang were defeated by Joseph Parker in their most recent matches. Despite being the underdog in both fights, Parker managed to come out on top. At present, he is ahead of both players in the heavyweight division, which is currently experiencing a surge in popularity after Oleksandr Usyk's victory over Tyson Fury, making him the first undisputed champion with four belts in the division.

Wilder desires a chance to compete for a championship belt again. He previously possessed the WBC championship title from 2015 until 2020, before being knocked out by Fury.

Wilder is considered to be one of the strongest punchers in the history of boxing, as evidenced by his 41 knockouts in 42 career wins. However, he wasn't able to defeat Fury in any of their three matches, settling for a split draw in the first one and then losing by knockout in the next two. In his fight against Parker, Wilder's performance raised some red flags, as he fought passively, barely threw any punches, and seemed uninterested in the bout as he lost with scores of 118-111, 118-110, and 120-108.

During the final press conference this week, Wilder expressed his confidence in what he has previously stated. He also expressed excitement to be working alongside Eddie, despite their previous relationship not being the best. Wilder acknowledges that time brings about change and he has been a part of this change. Currently, Wilder and his teammates are like a warrior's drum, with one beat and one sound. They are ready for battle and their energy can be felt on the left side where they have positioned themselves in the 5 x 5 event. They are not playing any games - they are here to win and knock out their opponents. Wilder is eagerly anticipating Saturday night when they plan to go on a five-man sweep and emerge victorious in the 5 x 5 event.

If Wilder doesn't bring more energy and aggression to the ring, he may be in trouble when faced with a fighter like Zhang. Zhang has a lot of power and tends to start throwing punches right from the beginning of a fight. In the 26 fights that Zhang has won, he has managed to knock out 21 of his opponents. This means that Wilder needs to be more proactive and not just rely on his natural talent if he wants to win.

Zhang managed to win 25 professional fights without being beaten. However, in August 2022, he lost to Filip Hrgovic in a controversial decision. Despite this setback, Zhang persevered and achieved victory once again by knocking out Joe Joyce to take the WBO interim title. He continued to keep his belt secured with another knockout in their rematch.

During Zhang's battle against Parker, some of his weaknesses were revealed, mainly his tendency to become exhausted during different parts of the fight. In previous fights, Zhang has demonstrated a decrease in energy during the later rounds, which is quite different from his initial attack strategy. This is in contrast to Wilder's current difficulty in initiating action during fights.

On the upcoming fight card, there are some other important matches that are worth mentioning. One of them is a heavyweight battle between Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois, which is for the IBF interim championship title. Hrgovic has been waiting for a while to fight for this championship and thought that he would have a chance to fight for the IBF world title if he won against Dubois. However, the IBF recently announced that they would take away the title from the Usyk vs. Fury winner if they did not fight Hrgovic.

The IBF is currently contemplating whether they should give Usyk the green light for a rematch with Fury, rather than rushing their decision. If they opt to strip Usyk, it's highly plausible that the victor between Hrgovic and Dubois will be crowned as the new world champion. This brought about some uncertainty when Hrgovic was questioned if he was aware of the championship status for the upcoming fight on Saturday.

Hrgovic was surprised and perplexed when he heard that it wasn't for the belt. He firmly believed that it should be a title match. According to him, that was what was planned from the beginning, so he was confused as to why it had changed. He questioned who said it wasn't for the title and expressed his disappointment as he had been told it would be a title fight.

In the beginning, there was a plan for Dmitrii Bivol to be the main attraction of the event by fighting Artur Beterbiev to determine the ultimate champion in the IBF, WBO, and WBC categories. However, Beterbiev couldn't participate due to a mishap, so Bivol decided to stick with the show and will now protect his WBA light heavyweight title against Malik Zinad, who has never lost a fight.

Now, before we move on to predicting and picking the main event, let's examine the remaining matches on the undercard and the current betting probabilities.

Wilder Versus Zhang: Card And Odds

The IBF heavyweight title is temporarily empty.

Dmitrii Bivol is a fighter who has a massive advantage when it comes to odds, standing at -3000. This means that if you want to bet on him, you would need to put down $3000 just to win $100. It's evident that Bivol is a clear favorite in his upcoming match.

The championship title for the light heavyweight division in the World Boxing Association.

Raymond Ford, with a weight of 160 lb, is a professional boxer who competes in the featherweight category.

It is tough to guess the outcome of the Wilver vs. Zhang fight. This is because we are uncertain which Wilder we will see. Wilder might have better speed and power than Zhang, but that won't matter if Wilder fights like he did against Parker. Zhang, on the other hand, fought aggressively against Parker and scored two knockdowns that kept the final scorecards close. In contrast, Wilder only threw 17 punches per round and landed a total of 39 punches throughout the entire fight.

If Wilder is prepared and motivated, it's likely that he will use his usual tactic of delivering a powerful shot to beat Zhang. However, if Wilder lacks the passion required to win, Zhang may take an early advantage and win several rounds convincingly. However, Zhang's lead might diminish if he gets tired and becomes vulnerable to Wilder's right hand.

Right now, we can only make estimations about the upcoming fight. However, it's become apparent that Wilder acknowledged difficulty in initiating attacks against Parker, which is often a negative indicator in the later years of a boxer's profession. My prediction is that Zhilei Zhang will win by unanimous decision.