Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang Odds, Pick & Prediction: Bets for Queensberry vs Matchroom 5v5 (Saturday, June 1)

Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang Odds

Here's everything you need to know about the Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang odds for Saturday, June 1 with our expert boxing pick and prediction.

In an endlessly fascinating sport, few things are more captivating than the tension of a crossroads bout.

Former world heavyweight champions Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) and Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) are headlining this weekend’s Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5v5 boxing event. Queensberry Promotions, run by Frank Warren, will be taking on Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in a series of five one-on-one bouts – Survivor Series or Bellator vs. PFL style.

Wilder vs. Zhang is the one boxing fans care about most.

Wilder is coming off a December loss to Joseph Parker, in which the most feared puncher of his era was hesitant to pull the trigger for 12 full rounds and looked like a shell of the former longtime WBC heavyweight king.

That same Parker survived two knockdowns from the former WBO interim champion Zhang and outpointed him in March.

This three-month turnaround will be Zhang’s quickest since 2018.

Wilder, 38, and Zhang, 41, are also near the end of the line, and these are two men looking to have a good fight, not a long fight.

Here's my Wilder vs. Zhang pick and prediction for Saturday.

Wilder vs. Zhang Breakdown & Analysis

The Bronze Bomber’s last performance was worrisome.

He lost wide on the cards in a bout in which no judge gave him more than two rounds – and even those may have been hard to find.

The lone positive for Wilder was getting rounds and, seemingly, not getting hurt. The 2008 Olympic bronze medalist had returned to the ring for the first time in 14 months, which is probably another issue. And even that fight – an October 2022 knockout win over Robert Helenius – took legitimately three punches for Wilder to win. That was his first bout in a year – the last Tyson Fury bout.

This will be Wilder’s fifth fight since October 2020, and since then, he’s had layoffs of a year or more three different times. This return to the ring after just over five months will be his quickest turnaround between bouts since he fought Luis Ortiz (November 2019) and Fury (February 2020).

Zhang, despite dropping Parker in Rounds 3 and 8 of their March bout, lost a majority decision, and it was a well-judged fight. Zhang wasn’t hesitant to punch like Wilder; he just gassed himself. He had nothing left by the end of the bout, and it was a stark reminder of his age (and, to a lesser degree, his injury issues).

Prior to that, Zhang spent his 2023 whooping Joe Joyce’s ass, knocking him out twice – in April and September.

In this bout, it all traces back to which Wilder is going to show up.

Wilder has the physical advantages – 6-foot-7 with an 83-inch reach vs. Zhang’s 6-foot-6 frame with an 80-inch reach – and he’s actually younger and the more accomplished fighter. But he’s the underdog because his last outing was a bummer. Zhang performed better against Parker just months later, scoring the two knockdowns and inching toward a stoppage on multiple occasions.

Zhang is the favorite for this reason.

But money has been coming in on Wilder, moving the line in his direction because of the belief in his past, and that that guy is still there.

I will buy into it.

Wilder vs. Zhang Prediction & Pick

I absolutely detest betting against Wilder against anyone who isn’t Fury. Sure, I got burned on the Parker bout, but in hearing interviews since, Wilder recognizes that his lack of aggression isn’t sustainable if he wants one more title run. Also – that’s just obvious.

Parker’s style was also to find the spots where Wilder was most hesitant, throw, and hold before Wilder could get off. Zhang won’t deploy that same strategy, in all likelihood. Parker is smaller and faster. Zhang is a heavy-footed heavyweight who isn’t hard to find. He has terrorizing, world-class power, but he’ll be at risk as a result (as will Wilder).

Yes, Wilder is a one-trick pony with a predictable style, but the reason he got as far as he did is because he’s excellent at executing it. Just because you know a bullet’s coming when a gun is cocked doesn’t mean you’ll know how to stop it. Wilder’s right hand has been a killer in boxing’s historically glamour division, and I think he’ll stop Zhang with it this weekend.

Wilder by KO/TKO, which is available at +185 odds on FanDuel as of this writing, is the pick. If you’re betting on Wilder, the decision is a waste of time. He has one decision win in his entire career.

If I’m wrong, I can live with the results.

The Pick: Deontay Wilder by KO/TKO (+185 at FanDuel)

Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5v5 Bonus Picks

Quickly, I have two other bets I like on this Queensberry vs. Matchroom card.

• The previous main event was to determine the first-ever undisputed champion at light heavyweight, but Artur Beterbiev pulled out due to injury. WBA super champion Dmitry Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) defends against lesser-known challenger Malik Zinad (22-0, 16 KOs). I like Bivol to win by decision (+145), which I've already played at FanDuel.
• We also have a featherweight title clash between rising stars on the card. WBA champion Ray Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) is coming off a dramatic, star-making 12th-round TKO (with nine seconds to spare!!) against Otabek Kholmatov, who led on two scorecards heading into the final round. Ford will defend against rising Brit Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) in what’s the most underrated bout in the 5v5. I like Ford on the moneyline (-160), which I played at DraftKings.