When it comes to chinese boxing today, although there is no world-class golden belt at present, there are many boxers who have the opportunity to compete for the world championship. Recently, a Chinese warrior is challenging the world boxing king's golden belt to challenge the right, this person is Zhang Zhilei, a heavyweight brother of Chinese boxing. In order to prepare for this crucial battle, Zhang Zhilei also fought hard, spending $110,000 (about 720,000 yuan) to train in the United States.
Zhang Zhilei
The veteran from Zhoukou, Henan, is now 38 years old, but his pursuit of the highest honor in boxing has not stopped. In 2008, Zhang Zhilei won the silver medal in the super heavyweight (more than 91 kg) of the Beijing Olympic Games, and in 2014, Zhang Zhilei entered the professional boxing world, and has not been defeated to this day, with a current professional record of 23 wins, 1 draw and 18 (T) KO. In the first half of his career, although Zhang Zhilei had good strength, because there was no suitable promotion company, the competition has not been stable.
In September 2020, Zhang Zhilei was favored by Joshua's promoter Herne and successfully signed a contract. In the past two years, under Herne's arrangement, Zhang Zhilei's frequency of matches has gradually stabilized. On May 7, local time, Zhang Zhilei will usher in a key battle in his career. The opponent is named Hégović, a fierce player from Croatia, who won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, with a professional record of 14 wins over 12(t)KO, who has a fairly strong finishing ability, and he is 9th in the heavyweight list of Boxing Ring magazine in December 2021.
Competition poster
In January, the IBF group sent an invitation to Ortiz and Hégovic to compete for the IBF's gold belt challenge, but Ortiz refused the match due to injury. Hégovich then extended invitations to Parker, Yuka, Ruiz Jr. (ko Joshua's), and Gassiev, all of whom were rejected for various reasons. It was not until Zhang Zhilei, who is currently ranked 13th in the IBF heavyweight, that the battle for the right to challenge the golden belt was truly determined.
According to foreign media reports, Hegovich will receive $390,000 in this battle, while Zhang Zhilei will get $260,000. Whether you win or lose, this appearance fee is very impressive. Also for the 38-year-old Zhang Zhilei, this match is also the best chance he can challenge the world boxing champion.
Last September, Usik defeated Joshua and managed to win the latter's three gold belts, becoming the first boxing champion in today's heavyweight boxing world. Next, Usik will fight Joshua twice. If Zhang Zhilei can defeat Hegovich, he will officially attack the world championship title and challenge the winner between Usik and Joshua.
Usik
Recently, Xiaobian also conducted an exclusive interview with Zhang Zhilei, for this championship challenge game, to see how he prepared: