Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang: The Panel's Prediction, Betting Tips And Preview
Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang Betting Tips
- The Panel Tip 1: Zhilei Zhang To Win By KO, TKO or Disqualification – 11/10 With 10Bet
- The Panel Tip 2: Over 1.5 Knockdowns – 5/4 With BetVictor
- The Panel Tip 3: Under 6.5 total rounds – Evens With Coral
If Saturday’s main event of the Matchroom vs Queensberry card had a tagline, it would surely be ‘Last Chance Saloon’ with neither Deontay Wilder nor Zhilei Zhang able to afford a defeat if they want to remain in the world title picture.
Wilder has already spoken about retirement if he loses in Saudi Arabia this weekend and the former WBC heavyweight champion is the underdog on boxing betting sites after a run of one win in his last four fights.
Those four fights have been spread over a sizeable four-year period, and the Bronze Bomber looked a shadow of his former self in his last outing, a one-sided points defeat to Joseph Parker last December.
Parker is what links these two fighters with Zhang’s last outing ending in a points loss to the New Zealander in March, only the second defeat of the Chinese fighter’s career.
Time is not on the side of either man, with Zhang having recently turned 41 while Wilder is 38, and the pressure is firmly on these two big hitters.
Given both fighters can bang, we could be in for an explosive encounter and that has played into The Panel’s thinking when making our Wilder vs Zhang predictions.
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Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang Prediction: Wilder To Go Out With A Bang
This isn’t quite a coin toss fight, but the power of both men makes it a slightly tricky betting heat with either capable of finishing this fight with one blow.
Wilder’s knockout ability is well-known with 42 of his 43 career wins coming via stoppage, while Zhang has scored 21 KOs on his way to a tally of 26 victories.
This fight is anticipated to end before the final bell, and it’s Zhang who looks the likelier to come out on top.
The Chinese fighter has been far more active than Wilder recently, stepping in the ring twice as many times as the American in the last four years, and very few of his opponents have walked away from those bouts unscathed.
He demonstrated his destructive power in back-to-back stoppage wins over Joe Joyce, and even in his two defeats, he’s managed to flaw his adversary.
The southpaw sent Parker to the mat twice and decked the unbeaten Filip Hrgovic, only to lose both fights to two technically superior fighters.
Wilder doesn’t fall into that same category. He’s always been a far more simplistic boxer with an explosive right hand, but he failed to uncork his main weapon in his loss to Parker.
The Alabama native’s timing was way off against Parker in a performance that suggested his best days were way behind him.
Questions over how much Wilder’s trilogy with Tyson Fury took out of him are tough to answer, but there must be doubts over his punch resistance after being stopped twice by the Brit.
Zhang has never been stopped and has combated big punchers well in the past, while Wilder had issues in his last contest against a southpaw in Luis Ortiz. Ultimately, Wilder won the fight but Ortiz got home regularly.
There’s a chance a desperate Wilder lands a haymaker to stay relevant in the heavyweight division, but The Panel believe Zhang is ultimately the right side to be on and like Big Bang to come out on top.
Zhang is odds-on to have his hand raised on betting sites, but his price to win via stoppage is a little more appealing and gets the nod.
The Panel Tip 1: Zhilei Zhang To Win By KO, TKO or Disqualification – 11/10 With 10Bet
Power Punchers May Get Home
Given the knockout ability of both men, the 5/4 on over 1.5 knockdowns being hung by BetVictor may not last.
Caution is unlikely to go out of the window given what a defeat will mean for either man, but their records suggest neither fighter will hold back if they see an opening.
One punch could be enough to end this but Wilder has shown an ability to get off the canvas before, doing so a combined total of five times across his last two fights with Fury.
The Bronze Bomber also downed Fury twice in each of their first and last bouts, and Zhang, who hasn’t been put on the mat all that often in his career, will need to be careful.
The Panel Tip 2: Over 1.5 Knockdowns – 5/4 With BetVictor
Don’t Expect A Late Night
You won’t find a price bigger than 1/4 on betting apps for this fight to finish before the final bell and the money has been trickling in on an early conclusion.
Given that The Panel is backing Zhang for victory, it makes sense to pair that selection with an early finish, as the 2012 Olympic silver medallist tends to do his best work early on in fights.
Stamina is Zhang’s big issue and the longer the fight goes, the more it will favour Wilder.
Zhang has a habit of hurting his opponents in the early rounds though, dropping Parker in round three and flooring Joyce in the same round in their second fight, while his first contest with the Brit was stopped in round six.
Zhang’s record is littered with early knockdowns, while Wilder’s only win in the last four years was a first-round KO of Robert Helenius.
Under 6.5 rounds seems the sweet spot when examining how far this fight will go.
The Panel Tip 3: Under 6.5 total rounds – Evens With Coral
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