Boxing Weekend Watch & Bet

Match information

Heavyweight power-punchers Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang will headline the Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5×5 at The Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. The intriguing matchup is one neither fighter can afford to lose. It will be broadcast on DAZN Pay-Per-View. The event begins at 2 p.m. ET/ 11 a.m. PT. and also on TNT Sports and DAZN in the U.K. at 7 p.m. Wilder, rated at No. 9 by The Ring at heavyweight, claimed bronze at the 2008 Olympics before he turned professional and won his first 32 fights inside the distance. He outboxed Bermane Stiverne (UD 12) to win the WBC title and made ten successful defenses. The Alabama native displayed his much-vaunted power icying Stiverne (KO 1) in a rematch and Luis Ortiz (TKO 10 and KO 7) to set up the eagerly anticipated showdown with Tyson Fury. He benefitted from the scorecards to retain his title on a draw but was beaten down in the rematch and stopped in seven rounds, and then lost an exciting third fight in 11-rounds. Wilder returned with a violent knockout of Robert Helenius (KO 1). However, the 38-year-old looked lost as he was outhustled by Joseph Parker (L UD 12) in his most recent outing. Zhang, rated at No. 5 by The Ring at heavyweight, captured silver for China at the 2008 Olympics and lost narrowly to eventual gold medal winner Anthony Joshua at London 2012. “Big Bang” turned professional in 2014. His progress was slow until he stepped up and faced unbeaten Filip Hrgovic, losing a contentious 12-round unanimous decision. However, the 41-year-old Chinese southpaw scored a career-best win over Joe Joyce (TKO 6) in April and followed that up with an even more emphatic third-round knockout in their rematch. Nevertheless, he was subsequently beaten by Parker, despite scoring a pair of knockdowns. This one appears to be a very intriguing match up between two flawed but big punchers, which figures to end in dramatic fashion. Wilder (43-3-1, 42 knockouts) has had to over-rely on that power to get him out of a few sticky situations during his career and struggled when he couldn’t pull the trigger against Parker last time out. The New Zealander gave Wilder some movement, which Zhang won’t, since he’ll be a much more stationary target. However, at this stage of his career the real question is whether he still has the desire he once had. Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) is usually strong in the first half. We’ve seen him outboxed in the second half by Hrgovic and Parker in his two loses but he also has to be weary of Wilder’s nuclear power. He’s never been hit by anyone like the American. How will Wilder deal with the much bigger physique (Zhang figures to be around 75 pounds heavier) and southpaw stance of the Big Bang? Zhang will be there to be hit, but how will he hold up under a right hand from Wilder?