On 27 November 2021, Zhang faced Craig Lewis on the undercard of Teófimo López vs. George Kambosos Jr. Zhang started the fight off slowly, but dropped Lewis twice in round two, leading Lewis’ corner to throw in the towel, giving Zhang a win by TKO.
Zhilei Zhang laid one of the all-time great right hooks onto Joe Joyce’s chin in the opening minute of the third round. It was a hammer blow, a shot that no heavyweight fighter in the world could have withstood. And Joe Joyce collapsed under it’s weight.
Chinese powerhouse Zhilei Zhang scored an emphatic fifth-round TKO over Deontay Wilder and may have closed the lid on the former WBC heavyweight champ’s career at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday. The official time was 1:51.
On the feet, Lemos was happy to trade punches with the champion and that’s where she connected with her first real damaging shot in the fight. In return, Zhang brought the fight back to the ground where she was dishing out the punishment and really controlling Lemos in the grappling exchanges.
China’s Zhang, 41, connected with a perfectly timed counter right hook that spun Wilder in a daze. With Wilder defenseless, Zhang (27-2-1, 21 KOs) sprinted in and smashed him with another right hand that planted the American hard on the canvas.
The New Zealand-born fighter lost a razor-thin decision to Dillian Whyte but won his next six fights, which included a pair of wins over perennial contender Chisora (SD 12/ UD 12). The 32-year-old lost a physically grueling fight against Joyce (KO 11). To his credit, he rebounded with four wins, notably dominating Deontay Wilder (UD 12) which helped earn him The Ring Comeback of The Year for 2023.
But he was big. Not just for his family. For his town. Zhang grew up in Shenqiu, a rural county that sits on the line between Henan and Anhui in the eastern part of the country. He wasn’t athletically gifted. Wasn’t so athletically inclined, either. When he was 12, his father, concerned about his weight, suggested Zhang try sports. Kayaking was popular. Zhang liked it. But the first time he squeezed his 6′ 1″, 190-pound frame into one he felt the water splashing into the sinking vessel as he paddled.
The two 34-year-olds join an increasingly stacked card, which includes the recently announced lightweight matchup between former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and surging contender Arman Tsarukyan. White touted the bout as a «No. 1 contender fight» with the winner likely earning a shot at lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at a later date.
W 2003 na mistrzostwach świata w boksie amatorskim w Bangkoku przegrał już w pierwszej walce z Polakiem Grzegorzem Kiełsą w stosunku 22–8. Dwa lata później na mistrzostwach świata w chińskim Mianyang wygrał pierwszą walkę z Vüqarem Alakbarovem, jednak w następnym pojedynku uległ późniejszemu złotemu medaliście, Kubańczykowi Odlanierowi Solísowi .
MIKE is a Hulu Original series that airs exclusively on the platform in the US. Those interested in watching the show will need to have a subscription to the streaming service, which consumers can sign up for as a standalone service or as part of the Disney Bundle.
Zhang lost at the 2007 World Amateur top boxing division Championships to Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov in the semifinals but qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics. There he settled for silver, losing the final by KO to Italy’s Roberto Cammarelle.
Following Zhang’s victory, reports stated that a bout between himself and Tyson Fury were being discussed. On 29 June an immediate rematch was announced for 23 September at Wembley Arena in London, England for the same title. Tyson Fury took to social media to offer Joyce sparring following the announcement.
6:57 p.m. ET/ 11:57 p.m. GMT: We move to the heavyweight division and it’s back to the 5v5 format. Daniel Dubois (Queensberry) vs. Filip Hrgovic (Matchoom) will throw down in a potentially explosive encounter. Remember, Queensberry are 6-0 ahead, so Matchroom needs two knockouts in the final two bouts just to get a draw. Michael Buffer is now on the mic… We head back to round-by-round scoring.
The victory made it a clean sweep for Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, which was squaring off with rival U.K. promoter Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in a unique 5 vs. 5 team concept created by Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
Round 2: Zhang may have hurt Wilder and was unloading some shots in the corner that Wilder mostly avoided. Wilder doesn’t look at all like the Wilder of old. Zhang is backing him down and taking it to the former champ.
Talking exclusively to DAZN courtesy of Free Bets, Zhang confessed he went into the fight underestimating his opponent and was the reason he didn’t get the job done. «In my opinion, I was too relaxed, and I was too overconfident going into that fight,» he admitted.
Zhang isn’t sure where his size comes from. Both his parents were under 6 feet. His brother and sister—Zhang is the youngest of three—are as well. He’s heard stories about his great-grandfather being big but can’t say for certain. «Maybe,» muses Zhang, «some kind of genetic mutation.»