Bivol to defend title vs. Malik Zinad on June 1

Dmitrii Bivol (22-0) will defend his WBA World light-heavyweight title against Libya’s Malik Zinad (22-0) on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Zinad will substitute Artur Beterbiev, who withdrew because of an injury.

The news was confirmed for “ESPN” by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.

Alalshikh said that former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang will be the new main event, per Alalshikh. Wilder needs an impressive performance to move onto a planned Aug. 3 bout with Jared Anderson in Los Angeles.