Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang surprise announcement on Bivol-Beterbiev undercard

At a press conference in London on Monday, the undercard for the upcoming fight between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev in Saudi Arabia was announced, and one bout in particular took everyone by surprise.

The event features boxers from Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and the fighters came out to face the press wearing harlequin-style facemasks. Upon unveiling, it was revealed that former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will face former interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang.

Wilder confirmed that this fight could be his career-defining moment when he said, “This fight I’m holding it as my last stand, my last chance, and that’s what I’m taking it as.”

Eddie Hearn “His Excellency said that for the Wild Card pick, we could find the best fighter we could. I looked at the heavyweights available, I think this man has long been one of the most dangerous punchers in the division. Coming off a defeat, I think he’s going to come back more dangerous than ever.”

Wilder confirmed the thought in everyone’s mind, namely that it is surprising that he is in the Matchroom stable for this event. “Nobody ever thought me and old Eddie would be working together so this is the ultimate surprise right here. And like Eddie said to Frank, it’s a shame we can’t work together in the business of boxing. This is what it’s all about, the best fighting the best, the best promoters going against the best promoters and putting the fighters together.”

Speaking of his opponent, a huge puncher known as Big Bang, Wilder said, “I respect Zhang, he’s a good fighter and I respect him for that. But it’s my time. I’ve been through a lot, you understand me, and I’ve had to regroup, I’ve had to get myself together and things don’t just change overnight. Things don’t change for the next fight or so. You have to keep working, you have to keep pushing, you have to keep working, keep pushing, until you get what you want. And I’m at this point in time where I’m narrowing it down and come the night of the fight we’ll see if I got it or not.”

Addressing his recent lacklustre performances, Wilder said, “You know, I lost my love and my passion for this business, I lost my hunger for so many different reasons. But now I’m in an opportunity where I’m dealing with people that I love...and it’s amazing to be around people who appreciate what they see in front of them. I’m not playing around this time, I have nothing to lose. I’ve lost a lot of things in my life, even including some of the closest people in my life, so I don’t feel like I have nothing else to lose, but only to gain.”

Eddie Hearn believes that Wilder will gain big in this event. “Deontay Wilder versus Zhilei Zhang is a massive, massive heavyweight fight between two punchers and we’ll see what the future holds but for one night only we’ll work together and I believe this man’s going to make a real statement and get back on the heavyweight scene.”

Here is the full card: