It has been 11 years since the 41-year-old Chinese sensation Zhilei Zhang made his professional debut. Despite boasting an impressive record, the 110 kg heavyweight, standing at nearly 2 meters, has never won a title. He came extremely close when he held the WBO “interim” heavyweight championship for almost a year. However, he fell short at the last moment.
On February 22, Zhang will once again have the chance to get one step closer to a world title when he faces Germany’s Agit Kabayel for the WBC “interim” heavyweight title. The Zhoukou native will surely like to make the most of this opportunity and not repeat the past mistakes that robbed him of becoming the first-ever Chinese heavyweight world champion.
Zhilei Zhang’s boxing losses
‘Big Bang’ has lost two fights in his thirty-fight-long career. Till 2022, the Chinese heavyweight was an unstoppable towering force in the squared circle. But as we know, no one can escape the process of aging. Zhang showed the first signs of aging in his August 22, 2022 bout against Jerry Forrest. The Hard Rock Stadium, Florida, was stunned when Forrest took Zhang to the distance in a 10-round draw. Before the Forrest fight, Zhang had fought the distance only four times, out of which three fights were either 6 rounds or fewer.
The Zhoukou native shrugged off the draw with two straight KO victories. However, just when everything was looking to get back on track, Zhang suffered his first career loss against Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic at King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah. It was indeed a sensational fight where the Croatian punched out a unanimous decision victory with the scores of 112-115, 112-115, and 113-114 after 12 grueling rounds.
Just like last time, Zhang picked himself up again and won two straight bouts against Joe Joyce to become the WBO interim champion. He had the opportunity to cement himself as the legit contended for the WBO’s full title. However, the Kiwi Joseph Parker proved too much of a challenge for him.
Parker got knocked out twice in the match, yet the 41-year-old was not able to put him away for good. Was it because Zhilei Zhang’s punches weren’t as powerful as before? Or Joseph Parker can withstand the amount of punishment unfathomable to a normal human mind? We will let you decide the answer. But in the end, the New Zealand icon got a majority decision victory and snatched away the WBO interim title.
Parker now has the chance at WBO’s full title against Daniel Dubois on the same card, where the Chinese fighter will challenge destiny again. The loss against Parker must surely sting because if Zhang had won it, he would have been facing Dubois instead of Parker.
Zhilei Zhang’s boxing record and stats
Despite facing several setbacks and turning pro a bit late, Zhilei Zhang boasts an impressive record of 27-2-1. The knockout specialist holds an astonishing 81.48% KO rate, having ended 22 of his matches prematurely. Known for his heavy punches and towering presence, Big Bang has constantly challenged himself against tough opponents.
Zhilei Zhang is coming off an impressive victory against Deontay Wilder. However, he will enter the fight against Agit Kabayel as a betting underdog. But as the Zhoukou native has claimed previously, “Just as the Big Bang marks the beginning of the universe, I wanted to make a similar impact in the boxing world.” This is his chance to start a revolution. Because honestly, he might not get many chances after this.
What do you think about Zhilei Zhang’s chances in the WBC interim heavyweight title bout? Let us know your thoughts down below.
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