He said: “I just thought it was a cool tattoo. I was going to get a bunch of hearts and stuff. That would have been really stupid. I was going to be the man of hearts, baby. I was very close. Victor Perez, the tattoo artist, said, I ain’t doing that. I can’t do that.
The more George watched, the more he liked. Zhang had size, sure. But he also had speed. Athleticism. Slashing power. After the meet, the Chinese coaches invited George to a camp in the Poconos. “They liked my philosophies,” says George. With the 2010 Asian Games around the corner, the coaches asked George to come to Beijing to work with their top prospects.
“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.
But it’s hard to believe we’ll see the older Wilder after he looked wholly uninspired in the unanimous decision loss to Parker in December. It seems more likely that Zhang beats away at Wilder for 12 and “The Bronze Bomber” is unable to respond with a shot that backs him up.
There’s a cheeriness to Zhang. He has stability, both in his career and with the people around him. Li, who has been with Zhang since 2010. George, Zhang says, “is like a brother.” In ’18, with his career stalled, Zhang considered retirement. Now he believes he has several good years left in him. His next fight will likely come in March, on the undercard of Joshua’s heavyweight showdown with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou. A title shot of his own—Zhang holds an interim version of the WBO title—could come soon afterward.
Li, asked on a scale of 1-10 what George’s comprehension of the language was, rated George a 4. Good enough to order dinner, but details of boxing strategy often require explaining by the native-speaking Li.
Zhang considered turning professional at 25 years of age after the 2008 Olympics, but could not until 2014. Dino Duva and Don King were the first promoters to approach Zhang. In August 2009, Duva and King arranged for Zhang to train at the Poconos. In September 2010, Duva arranged for Zhang to train in the Poconos to prepare him for the 2010 Asian Games. The highlight of that training were 11 bouts between the Chinese and American national boxing teams in Manhattan promoted as “Empires Collide”, which Zhang defeated Danny Kelly Jr 16:8 in the main fight. Zhang dominated in all domestic amateur heavyweight competitions from 2005 until 2013. He was finally released by the Henan Provincial Combat and Weightlifting Center after he competed in the 2012 Olympics and won the gold medal for 2013 National Games of China.
Zhilei weighs around 250 pounds and stands at 6 feet, 6 inches, towering over most of his opponents. Still, it’s not just his stature that commands attention but also his phenomenal athleticism and punching power, which have earned him accolades in the boxing world.
“I blocked a few punches, but hell yeah, he punches hard,” Zhang, speaking through an interpreter, said of Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs), who is regarded as one of the most powerful punchers in heavyweight history.
“For my last fight, 60 million people in China tuned in to watch that, I believe we’ll make more history this time, I’m expecting 100 million, I have 1.4billion people behind me and supporting me, let’s make it happen. I’m fighting for my country.”
“I want to fight all the best fighters of this era,” he said . “I want to fight everyone, starting with guys like (Martin) Bakole or (Joe) Joyce, or Frank Sanchez, and then Joshua, Wilder, Usyk. I want to fight them all, of course.
Zhang, 41, spun around Wilder with a right hook then folded the 38-year-old with another at the Kingdom Arena. Wilder barely beat the referee’s count, but the fight was waved off as the “Bronze Bomber” staggered around.
Zhang was housemates with middleweight Meng Fanlong and lightweight Wang Zhimin in New Jersey when he first came to the US. Along with Zou Shiming, these four were the first wave of boxers ever released by the Chinese authorities to turn professional.
Southpaw Zhang had told the Englishman he was back to end his career and could well have proved true to his words with another chastening defeat for the ‘Juggernaut’, who now faces questions over where he goes from site here.
Round 3: Normal service resumes: Wilder backs off consistently and Zhang walks him down with ease. Left hand lands from Zhang. Left hook attempt by Wilder but it was mere nuisance value. Given how much was expected, this has been awful.
Zhang was highly regarded by American promoters by 2009 but his career stalled between 2009 and 2019 owing to a combination of his duties to Chinese national boxing obligations, mismanagement and accompanying legal issues, and his visa problems. Until Zhang signed with Matchroom Sport USA in 2020 at 37 years of age, he was excluded from boxing’s top ranks.