Deontay Wilder has his next fight date confirmed for June 1, when he faces Zhilei Zhang at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The pair battles it out on the card topped by Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds at heavyweight.
Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) looks to get back in the win column. The 38-year-old native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama dropped a unanimous decision against Joseph Parker last time out in December 2023 also in Riyadh.
Bloomfield, New Jersey-based Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) also looks to return to winning ways. The 40-year-old Chinese southpaw suffered the defeat by majority decision against Parker at the same location in March.
Also confirmed for Beterbiev vs Bivol undercard, a 12-round heavyweight bout between British former WBA “Regular” champion Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) and IBF top contender Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) of Croatia. As well, Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) of Camden, New Jersey makes the first defense of his WBA featherweight title in the 12-round bout against British contender Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs).
Plus, Hamzah Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KOs) of the UK goes up against Austin “Ammo” Williams (16-0, 11 KOs) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 12-round bout at light heavyweight. In another 12-rounder at light heavyweight, Willy Hutchinson (17-1, 13 KOs) of Scotland goes up against former world title challenger Craig Richards (18-3-1, 11 KOs) of London.
In the main event, Montreal, Canada-based unified WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) faces WBA 175 lbs titleholder Dmitriy Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) of Kyrgyzstan. The world championship bout is scheduled 12 rounds with the undisputed title on the line.
According to Top Rank, the main event bout airs live on ESPN+ in the U.S. as a “special one-fight broadcast”. The live stream of the entire card is expected on DAZN internationally.