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In a 12-round heavyweight bout, Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang meet Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight will take place at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET (DAZN). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Wilder vs. Zhang odds, and make our expert boxing picks and predictions.
Records: Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) | Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs)
Wilder is looking to bounce back from a unanimous-decision loss to Joseph Parker in December at this very same venue. He has lost 3 of his past 4 bouts, including a pair of knockout losses to Tyson Fury in Las Vegas.
The Alabama native will be looking to get on track. If he wins, it is likely to be via knockout. Wilder has 43 victories, and 42 have come via KO/TKO.
Wilder stands 6-foot-7 with a reach of 83 inches, holding a 1-inch height advantage over his counterpart. Zhang has a reach of just 78 inches. The Chinese fighter is much heavier, however, checking in at 282.8 pounds to just 214.6 pounds for Wilder, a difference of 68.2 pounds.
Zhang is also looking to rebound. He lost in his last fight to Parker via majority decision March 8. Prior to that, Zhang had back-to-back knockout victories over Britain’s Joe Joyce last year in London. Zhang is 0-2 in his 2 fights in Saudi Arabia, losing to Parker in March and ending up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision to Filip Hrgovic at Jeddah Superdome in August 2022.
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Wilder vs. Zhang odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook: access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:21 a.m. ET.
- Fight result (2-way line): Wilder +134 (bet $100 to win $134) | Zhang -162 (bet $162 to win $100)
- Over/Under: 6.5 rounds (Over -126 | Under -102)
- Will the fight go the distance? (Yes +350 | No -550)
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Wilder vs. Zhang picks and predictions
Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)
Zhang (-162) did some good things last time out against Parker, including knockdowns in Rounds 3 and 8. It helped Zhang to a 113-113 mark on the scorecard of judge Zoltan Enyedi, although the other 2 judges gave the nod to Parker.
WILDER (+134) is a better value as the slight underdog … and the younger fighter — Wilder is 38, Zhang is 41. Wilder has been a shell of his former self lately, though, scoring just a 1st-round KO against an overwhelmed Robert Helenius at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in October 2022.
Still, he has that punching power, a huge reach advantage, and he’ll be the quicker fighter, as he carries nearly 70 fewer pounds on his frame.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 6.5 ROUNDS (-126) is a solid play between these 2 veterans. Both fighters know this is a crucial fight if they want to stay on that Saudi gravy train. The winner is likely to continue to get high-paying fights, while the loser is likely to be put out to pasture.
As such, look for these fighters to be very calculating early on, and very careful, so as not to have their night end on a big punch. In fact, it wouldn’t be shocking to see a decision here, and for a chance to multiply up by 3½ times, YES (+350): WILL FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? is worth a roll of the dice.
Visit Boxing Junkie for more fight news and analysis.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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