WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang feels that he’s a bigger threat to WBC champ Tyson Fury than Deontay Wilder because he can punch with either hand, and he throws combinations rather than single shots.
Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KOs) says Fury is the one that he’s targeting to capture his WBC title. Whether he’ll ever get an opportunity to fight Fury is questionable, as he’s expected to fight IBF, WBA & WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk in December if the two can negotiate the match.
The southpaw Zhang appears to be headed to a rematch with Joe Joyce, who stopped in the sixth round last April in London. Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs) will essentially put his career on the line against ‘Big Bang’ Zhang.
If he loses to Zhang a second time, it could be the end for Joyce, which is why some boxing fans feel it’s foolhardy to take a rematch with him.
Zhang was clearly the better fighter in the entire contest, dominating every second of every round, and it’s impossible to picture a different scenario in the rematch.
“I’m a bigger threat to Tyson Fury than Deontay Wilder because Deontay Wilder pretty much depends on one single punch to finish the fight. He doesn’t rely on combinations,” said Zhilei Zhang to Fighthype.
“I feel I can punch with both hands, and I might be a bigger risk than Deontay,” said Zhang.
The former WBC champion Wilder had massive problems in his three fights with Fury, and he didn’t possess a well-balanced enough offense, defense, stamina, or leg strength to win.
Although you can argue that Wilder deserved knockout wins in the first and the third contests with Fury, but the referees seemed to give Tyson a big break when he was dropped.
Wilder will be fighting Anthony Joshua in December in Saudi Arabia.
“In a perfect world, I would like to go against Tyson Fury because he has the belt, and I really want to become the world champion,” said Zhang. “So it would be against Tyson Fury. After that, we can talk about Joshua. In that case, I would say Tyson Fury because I really want to get him.”
Fury is likely going to be retiring after a couple of more fights. It’s fair to say he’ll stick around for fights against Usyk and Joshua but then retire. Whether Fury comes out of retirement will depend on money. If he’s offered the king’s ransom, he’ll be back.
“It’s too tough for [Daniel] Dubois because Usyk is super fast,” said Zhang. “Dubois is strong, but he might have a problem landing shots.
“Otto Wallin beat him [Fury] up. I feel like he may have a little problem with southpaws. The other thing. It’s hard to find sparring partners like myself. How do you prepare for someone like me?
“Everyone thought I was the underdog because I don’t have the media hype me up, but I know what I can do in training, and I know what I’m capable of,” said Zhang about his upset sixth round knockout win over Joe Joyce last April.
“This is only the beginning, and I feel like the future is ahead of me. When you’re in the ring, you kind of have a general feeling after the first contact,” said Zhang about his thoughts in the first round against Joyce.
“After the first round, I felt my offense and my defense was on point. Everything I trained for, I can recall in my brain. So, I feel like it’s pretty solid.
“Great fight. Unbelievable skill levels with those two guys, and I really don’t have a favorite in this. I hope everyone enjoys this fight,” said Zhang when asked about his thoughts on the Errol Spence Jr vs. Terence Crawford bout on July 29th.
“I go with the older dog, Crawford. Decision, probably,” said Zhang when asked how Crawford beats Spence.
