Zhang Boxing Record
Wilder shoots a right hand. Zhang a left to the body. Zhang using that size early to push Wilder around. Both men taking their time. This is all about one, single shot from either side. Zhang shoots a left to the body as Wilder retreats out. Wilder fires a right that misses.
As an amateur, he was highly regarded by American promoters by 2009 after winning a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics and bronze medals at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships. His career stalled from 2009 to 2019, however, by a combination of his belated release from the Chinese boxing authorities to turn professional, the managerial and legal fiasco of two successive fringe promotional companies, and his visa problems. He could not line up high-profile matches until he signed Matchroom Sport in 2020 at 37 years of age. Zhang considered his fight with Jerry Forrest in 2021 to be the landmark moment of his career until that point.
In 1995, Zhang was called up to the Shenqiu County canoe sprinting team by coach Li Guofeng. When Zhang injured his leg during a tryout for the provincial canoe sprinting team, he was referred to the provincial boxing coach Gu Ganqing. In 1998, Gu signed him to the Combat and Weightlifting Center in the Henan Provincial Department of Sports, headed by center chief Li Yan in Shangjie. From 1998 until he was released from his sporting obligations, he was coached by Gu. This was the first time Zhang had lived away from his family.
Am 20. August 2022 verlor er nach Punkten gegen den ebenfalls ungeschlagenen Kroaten Filip Hrgović, welcher dadurch zum IBF-Pflichtherausforderer aufstieg. Sein bis dahin größter Erfolg gelang ihm rund acht Monate später, am 15. April 2023 in London, als ihm ein TKO-Sieg in Runde 6 gegen den ebenfalls unbesiegten britischen WBO-Interimsweltmeister Joseph Joyce gelang. Referee Howard Foster beendete den Kampf aufgrund einer starken Schwellung des rechten Auges bei Joyce, nachdem er diese zuvor zweimal durch den Ringarzt hatte untersuchen lassen.
"Respect to zhilei zhang ranking Zhang, it was a good fight but I think I could have done better, I think because I haven't fought a southpaw for so long. Credit to him because he was a good fighter, and I gave it my all. I think I could do better but it's just disappointing.
Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) was feared for his dangerous right hand during his long title run, but at 38 years old, no longer possesses the tenacity or willingness to let his best weapon go. And without the ability to unleash his money punch, Wilder is just another heavyweight.
Hrgović was scheduled to fight Amir Mansour on September 8, 2018, for the WBC International heavyweight title. It was both the first time Hrgović fought in his native Zagreb, as well as the first time he was scheduled to fight in a twelve-round bout. In the first round, Hrgović utilized half-feints and jabs to pressure his opponent back, relying on his height and length to insulate him from Mansour's lunges. There was a brief break in action during the second round, after Mansour landed a blow to the back of Hrgović's head. After the break, the fight continued in the previous tempo, with Hrgović achieving a technical knockout win after knocking Mansour down twice in the third round.
Bivol feels that he is on the cusp of realising his dream. "Of course I'm happy because when I signed the contract to be a pro boxer I had a goal, to be undisputed champion," he said. "Even the fight against Canelo, it was my ticket to big fights. Now I'm happy.
Hrgović was scheduled to fight the Tom Little, who was on a three-fight winning streak, on the undercard of the World Boxing Super Series semi-final clash between Oleksandr Usyk and Mairis Briedis. Hrgović dominated throughout the fight, pressuring with a jab-right hand combination. He finally managed to knock Little down near the end of the fourth round, dropping his opponent with a right straight. Although Little managed to beat the ten-count, he had a cut over his left eye, and would quickly lose by technical knockout.
With a matchup against Joseph Parker less than a month away, on March 8 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there would be no missed days in camp. On this day, Zhang is joined by George and translator Kurt Li plus heavyweight boxer Joe Cusumano (22-4, 20 KOs), a Virginia-based boxer coming off a career-best win over Adam Kownacki last June. Cusumano is joined in camp by Norman Neely (14-1, 9 KOs), a local heavyweight whom Zhang often spars with, and Federico Pacheco Jr. (5-0, 4 KOs), a 20-year-old heavyweight prospect.
"It's very disappointing. First couple of rounds he got it right and he was moving left. Then he went toe-to-toe and got caught. If he continued to do what he was doing past five or six rounds then it would have been interesting. He got caught with a really good shot.
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.