WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang may be the most dangerous heavyweight in the division today at age 40, and he could become the most avoided if he destroys Joseph Parker on March 8th in their fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The British Bypass
You can make an argument that Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) is already being avoided by the British heavyweights, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, neither of which has shown any desire to get in the ring with the powerful ‘Big Bang.’
We’re seeing Joshua & Fury pad their records with fights against these lesser heavyweights:
– Otto Wallin
– Francis Ngannou
– Dereck Chisora
– Dillian Whyte
– Robert Helenius
– Jermaine Franklin
Joshua and Fury have been protected by their promoters from Zhang and from other heavyweights. Those two are creations and were never the real thing. Just a couple of well-managed heavyweights that never wanted to fight the best like Zhang.
If Zhang destroys (34-3, 23 KOs) in March, those two will either wait him out until he’s old and harmless or, more likely, continue to avoid him like the plague.
Zhilei Zhang Peaking At 40
“Zhang is 40 years old, but it looks like he is peaking right now. Can you make a case that Zhilei Zhang is the most dangerous heavyweight in boxing?” said Chris Mannix to the DAZN Boxing.
“You think Joseph Parker can back Zhilei Zhang up when Joe Joyce couldn’t back Zhilei Zhang when Joe Joyce backed up Joseph Parker on his way to a knockout win just over a year or so ago?”
Parker is a scary fighter, and he does not like to fight aggressive fighters. We saw his fear when he fought Joe Joyce, backing up all night while being pressured by him. Eventually, Joyce trapped Parker against the ropes and knocked him out in the 11th round in their fight in September 2022.
“So, that math doesn’t really add up to me. I’m going to tell you why Zhilei Zhang is peaking right now at 40,” said Mannix. “Remember, he turned pro in 2013, shortly after the 2012 Olympics.
“He looked great in that fight against Filip Hrgovic a year ago. It could have gone either way that fight by a decision. Then this past year where he knocks out Joe Joyce twice.
“Joe Joyce came into those fights with a reputation for having a granite chin. He was this big, strong silver medalist, who you couldn’t hurt. Well, Zhang busted up his eye in one of those fights and forced a stoppage, and then landed a right hand from hell that put Joe Joyce down on the canvas face first, said Mannix.
We saw that Joyce is better than Parker, and Zhang will destroy the New Zealander to show fans that they were tricked into thinking Joseph was good due to his win over a washed 38-year-old Deontay Wilder, who clearly has lost his desire for the sport due to the mega-millions he’s made.
“When you go down face first, that’s a real knockout. Zhang is fighting at his best. His power is real. His chin is excellent. I think against this type of fighter, despite the fact that I think Andy Lee, Joseph Parker is going to have a lot of problems against him,” said Mannix.
Zhang Avoided
“The same kind of problems he had against Joe Joyce. So, I think Zhang is going to win this fight, and then I think a lot of guys are going to be going out of there way not to fight Zhilei Zhang in their next fight,” said Mannnix.
Zhang will likely destroy Parker, and then we’ll see Joshua and Fury give him a wide berth, choosing to play keep away by fighting each other or the same weak opposition that they’ve been. Their fans will call it a business decision, and they’re right.
It’s business for them to avoid dangerous fighters like Zhang. You can’t do that in other sports, like the NFL and NBA, which is why boxing isn’t as popular. The best DON’T compete against the best in boxing, and the promoters ensure that happens.
Ideally, the Saudis will at least insist on Zhang getting a shot at Joshua or Fury with them coming off of losses. It’s still highly doubtful that either of them will agree to get in the ring with Zhang, and would need to be lured there with tens of millions waved under their snoots by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh because they’re not going to willingly get in the ring with him and wind up like their fellow countryman Joe Joyce.
“If you talk to people around Filip Hrgovic, they don’t want to do a rematch,’ said Mannix. “That rematch would be a good fight. They don’t want a part of Zhilei Zhang again. This guy is already becoming or will become even more so one of the most avoided heavyweights in all of boxing,” said Mannix.
It’s a compliment to Zhang that Joshua, Fury, Deontay Wilder and even Oleksandr Usyk have shown no desire to want to fight him. That’s the highest form of praise when a fighter 40-years-old is still avoided by the so-called best heavyweights.
Of course, when they’re really not the best, but just regular fighters that have been marketed like products and sold to a gullible public, it makes sense that they’re kept far, far away from a fighter like Zhang because he’s the real thing.
Age Is Just A Number
“Joseph Parker couldn’t finish the fight against him,” said Mannix about Joe Joyce, who knocked out Parker in the 11th round in 2022. “If they’re both the same kind of punchers, why is this going to be measurably different?
“If Parker wins, it’s going to be because he outboxed Zhang. I think that might be possible. He is not going to land the kind of power shots that are going to stop Zhilei Zhang. You’re not giving Zhilei Zhang the kind of credit for his performances against Joe Joyce.
“Those were masterful performances that showed me that this is a fighter that is along the same lines of George Foreman that is becoming better with age and George Foreman was great in his prime.
“He’s showing that he can be elite in his 40s, and I think we’re seeing the very best of Zhilei Zhang,” said Mannix.
