The heavyweight division is really moving again, what with Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk a done deal (with a rematch clause in place), and with talk of Anthony Joshua possibly fighting Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF heavyweight belt if Usyk and Fury do dance again, choosing not to face IBF mandatory Hrgovic as has been ordered. But this leaves two big names without a fight: Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.
Wilder could, possibly, still fight AJ, maybe next year. But if you’re Joshua, and a chance to fight Hrgovic for a portion of the heavyweight crown, in a fight that would give AJ a shot at becoming a three-time champ, comes up, what are you gonna do? Swerve the ultra-lethal Wilder and fight Hrgovic, that’s what!
But what about Zhang, what’s “Big Bang’s” next move? A fight between the towering Chinese southpaw and Wilder would be a fascinating showdown, and we would all for sure tune in if it happened. And maybe we fans will be handed a real treat by way of this one being made, who knows? But Zhang, red-hot right now due to his back-to-back stoppage wins over Joe Joyce, wants the big fights.
Yesterday, Zhang’s co-manager, Terry Lane, was open to questions on the Gfunky Boxing podcast, and he spoke about the possibility of 40 year old Zhang engaging in a “placeholder” fight in February. Zhang, like the rest of us, must sit and watch how the Fury-Usyk saga plays out, and Zhang will also look to stay busy as he awaits his WBO mandatory shot at whoever it is who holds the belt when the time comes.
And Lane says Zhang could have a fight in the US in February.
“I don’t want to divulge too much but it’s possible we could fight in New York or Las Vegas in February,” Lane said on behalf of his fighter. “There could be something that happens before that, but again, we’re at plans B and C now because our Plan A was Usyk or Fury. And now they’re tied up. We want Joshua and Wilder…..I think those guys are still trying to make that fight (against each other). If they want to fight, we’ll fight either of those guys, no problem.”
But if not, who could Zhang fight in February?
“Guys like [Joseph] Parker or [Luis] Ortiz, guys like that,” Lane said.
Ortiz, although ancient and inactive, would perhaps make a decent enough foe for Zhang, at least as a stay-busy opponent. While Parker has his next fight set, this against Simon Kean on the Fury-Ngannou show in Saudi Arabia.
The problem Zhang, 26-1-1(21) has right now is getting the big names to face him. Time is not on Zhang’s side, as we know, but if things fall right for him, “Big Bang” could get himself a couple of big, big fights over the coming months. How good is Zhang and how much more damage can the massive southpaw go on to create?