Chinese heavyweight giant Zhilei Zhang has made it clear he is not yet ready to hang up the gloves. This week, “Big Bang” put out a couple of video messages on his YouTube channel, and the 42 year old southpaw said that he feels he can still perform at the top level and that he plans to return to the ring before the end of the year.
Zhang says bring on AJ—ten years later, let’s finally do it
Now, the southpaw who was last seen being chopped down by Agit Kabayel’s body shots in their fight that took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, says the fight he wants is one with former two-time heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua. Joshua – who recently said he will not be back in action until December of this year – defeated Zhang in an Olympic bout back in London 2012. Now, Zhang says a pro fight between the two that has been talked about for some time can happen.
“We will be discussing our next steps, including the opponent, time and location. I hope to fight by the end of this year,” Zhang said. “If Joshua is interested, okay, I’m in. Wherever it is. This fight has been talked about for many years but it never materialised. It will be great if we can make it happen this time around. My dream is unachieved. I’m still chasing. I am still on route to be the best world champion. I am still one step away from that goal.”
High risk, high drama—can Zhang lure Joshua in?
In the heavyweight division, a fighter who is coming off a loss, even a stoppage loss, can earn himself a notable comeback win and he’s back looking at big things. This could be the case for Zhang if he were able to fight and defeat AJ. Zhang Vs. Joshua is, for sure, a fight we would all tune in for, pay to see. It would likely be an exciting fight, providing both men were unafraid to let their hands go, and a KO would be likely.
But who would be the man scoring the KO, or the stoppage? That Olympic fight was a long time ago and really has no relevance as far as how a pro fight between these two would play out. Both Zhang, 27-3-1(22) and Joshua, 28-4(25) have of course been stopped, and the risk of facing each other would be a high one. But money talks, and if Joshua were offered a huge payday to fight Zhang, who knows, maybe it could happen. Zhang has made it clear he would fight AJ “wherever it is,” now it’s up to Joshua to let us know if he’s interested in the fight.
