Zhilei Zhang is enjoying a late career renaissance and now he has set his sights on a showdown with a big name in the heavyweight division.
Zhang is now 41-years-old and has had a total of 30 fights. He has drawn one, lost two and won 27, 22 of which have come by way of knockout.
The most impressive of those victories have been in his most recent fights. Last time out in June he stopped American former world champion Deontay Wilder in brutal fashion with a fifth round KO from which ‘The Bronze Bomber’ has not yet bounced back.
Before that in March, he lost on points to another former world champion in Joseph Parker, but did put his man down twice. Back in 2023, he secured two impressive victories over the formerly unstoppable Joe Joyce. Both wins came via KO inside the distance and helped establish Zhang as a real problem in the division.
Since then he has called out plenty of targets and now he has spoken to Boxing News about Daniel Dubois’ victory over Anthony Joshua to retain his IBF world title.
“I always think highly of Daniel. His previous performances showed everybody what kind of person and fighter he is but I never expected him to drop Josh in the first round. That caught me off guard, it was a little shocking, but then in the third and fourth he kept dropping Joshua and finished it in the fifth. I could see the outcome before the fight but I had no idea it would end up in such a devastating fashion. Daniel continuing to win will boost his confidence and I can see him getting better and better.”
Zhang then revealed that Dubois had agreed to fight him if he defeated Joshua and told ‘DDD’ that he’s ready to go.
“However if he faces the ‘Big Bang’, it’s going to be a nightmare for him. I can tell you this, if I meet him in the ring i’m going to ‘Bang’ him. Daniel said that after he takes care of AJ he was going to fight me and I’m here, if you want to go let’s do it!”
