Who won Wilder vs Zhang?
Zhilei Zhang beat Deontay Wilder by technical knockout in the 5th round on Saturday, June 1st, 2024, at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh.
The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant there was no weight limit.
Also on the undercard Daniel Dubois was victorious over Filip Hrgovic for the IBF Interim World Heavyweight championship, Hamzah Sheeraz beat Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams for the WBC World Middleweight belt, Dmitry Bivol defeated Malik Zinad for the WBA Super World Light Heavyweight title, Raymond Ford was defeated by Nick Ball for the WBA World Featherweight championship, and Willy Hutchinson beat Craig Richards.
Wilder vs Zhang stats
Back in June 2024, Deontay Wilder stepped into the ring with a record of 43 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw, 42 of those wins coming by way of knockout.
Zhilei Zhang made his way to the ring with a record of 26 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw, with 21 of those wins by knockout.
The stats suggested Wilder had an advantage in power over Zhang, with a 98% knockout percentage compared to Zhang's 81%.
Deontay Wilder was the younger man by 2 years, at 39 years old.
Wilder had a height advantage of 1 inch over Zhang. That also extended to a 5-inch reach advantage.
Deontay Wilder fought out of the orthodox stance, while Zhilei Zhang was a southpaw.
Wilder was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 18 more fights, and made his debut in 2008, 5 years and 8 months earlier than Zhang, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 69 more professional rounds, totaling 179 compared to Zhang's 110.
Deontay Wilder went into the fight ranked number 10 by the WBA, 7 by the WBC, and 13 by the WBO at heavyweight.
Zhilei Zhang was ranked number 9 by the WBC, 2 by the WBO, and 8 by the IBF in the Heavyweight division.
Wilder vs Zhang form
Deontay Wilder had stopped 2 of his last 5 opponents.
In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Joseph Parker on December 23, 2023, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Prior to that, he had won against Robert Helenius on October 15, 2022, by knockout in the 1st round in their WBC World Heavyweight championship fight at Barclays Center, New York, United States.
Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Tyson Fury on October 9, 2021, by knockout in the 11th round in their WBC World Heavyweight and The Ring Heavyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Nevada.
Before that, he had lost to Tyson Fury on February 22, 2020, by technical knockout in the 7th round in their WBC World Heavyweight and The Ring Heavyweight championship fight at MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
He had beaten Luis Ortiz on November 23, 2019, by knockout in the 7th round in their WBC World Heavyweight championship fight at MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
Zhilei Zhang had stopped 3 of his last 5 opponents.
In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Joseph Parker on March 8, 2024, by majority decision in their WBO Interim World Heavyweight championship fight at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Prior to that, he had defeated Joe Joyce on September 23, 2023, by knockout in the 3rd round in their WBO Interim World Heavyweight championship fight at OVO Arena Wembley, London, United Kingdom.
Going into that contest, he had won against Joe Joyce on April 15, 2023, by technical knockout in the 6th round in their WBO Interim World Heavyweight championship fight at Copper Box Arena, London.
Before that, he had been beaten by Filip Hrgovic on August 20, 2022, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
He had defeated Scott Alexander on May 7, 2022, by knockout in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Nevada, United States.
Activity check
In terms of activity leading into the fight, Zhilei Zhang had been fighting more than Deontay Wilder.
Going into this contest, Deontay Wilder had last fought 5 months and 9 days ago, while Zhilei Zhang's last outing had been 2 months and 24 days ago.
Wilder's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 6 months and 9 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 10 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 38 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7.6 rounds on average.
Zhang's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 34 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 6.8 rounds on average.
What time did Wilder vs Zhang start?
The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 12:00 AM UTC at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which was 8:00 PM EST or 5:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 1:00 AM BST in the UK.
Who broadcast Wilder vs Zhang?
The DAZN PPV show began at 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST. The DAZN PPV UK broadcast of the card started at 7:00 PM (BST).
What were the odds on Wilder vs Zhang?
Deontay Wilder was a 6/5 (+120) underdog going into the contest, while Zhilei Zhang made his way into the ring at 4/5 (-130) with oddsmakers.
3rd round ko for bomb squad!
Zhang’s style ideally fit for Wilder. It’ll be KO/TKO after 6th round.
Gonna be a knock out fest