In 1995, Zhang was called up to the Shenqiu County canoe sprinting team by coach Li Guofeng. When Zhang injured his leg during a tryout for the provincial canoe sprinting team, he was referred to the provincial boxing coach Gu Ganqing. In 1998, Gu signed him to the Combat and Weightlifting Center in the Henan Provincial Department of Sports, headed by center chief Li Yan in Shangjie. From 1998 until he was released from his sporting obligations, he was coached by Gu. This was the first time Zhang had lived away from his family.
Neither man landing the same big shots they were previously. Plenty of jabs both ways. Good right hand from Dubois lands over the rop. Hrgovic is cut but that was from a headbutt. And Hrgovic lands two good right hands. Dubois lands one of his own but Hrgovic lands another one. The jabs have dropped off as power punches are now the round.
.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-parser-output .citation:target ^Note 1 For WBO interim heavyweight title ^Note 2 For vacant WBC interim lightweight title ^Note 3 For Commonwealth Boxing Council and WBC International Silver lightweight titles ^Note 4 For British middleweight title
Con sus posibilidades, su carrera estaba en Estados Unidos. De hecho, sólo ha peleado cuatro veces como profesional en su país. Se pasó al pugilismo rentado con 31 años, pese a ello le fueron llevando la carrera con calma. Él siempre ha mantenido que la edad no importa si te cuidas. En su caso está en lo cierto, ya que poco a poco fue creciendo. En 2018 vivió un punto de inflexión. Sufrió cáncer en la tiroides y estuvo un año sin competir. Aquí volvió a demostrar su talante, no comunicó nada y pasó la enfermedad con la mayor discreción.
"I can fight any one of those guys, but do they want to fight me?," Zhang, a rare heavyweight lefty, muses through interpreter Kurt Li. "This is one of the major problems out there, maybe because I’m an underdog, I don’t have a name yet. And what if they lose?"
Nevermind. He lands a nasty left hook. Zinad eats it well but that was salty. And a right over the top! Zinad is on shaky legs!! Bivol pounces on him! Zinad staying on his feet but the hands are not up to defend. Bivol pours on the combos. Mean body shot and gets Zinad to the corner! Big right hand and that’s it! Ref jumps in to save Zinad on his feet.
As if Zhilei Zhang wasn’t already intimidating—as if being 6' 6" with Thanos-like fists didn’t make your knees rattle, as if back-to-back knockout wins last year over granite-chinned Brit Joe Joyce weren’t enough—on this particular mid-November afternoon, inside a nondescript gun range in northern New Jersey, Zhang has his fingers wrapped around a Sig Sauer P365 XL. Guns, Zhang insists, were never his thing. His trainer, Shaun George, introduced him to recreational shooting a few years ago; Kurt Li, his co-manager, translator and, it turned out, part-time range safety officer, showed him the ropes. The first time he pulled a trigger, his hands trembled.
In 2015, Zhang was signed to Roc Nation Sports, which Dino Duva also joined as an employee and boxing executive. Roc Nation, a music promoter, entered the boxing market in August 2014 with money but no plan. David Itskowitch, Roc Nation's founding chief operating officer of boxing, abruptly resigned in July 2016 and Duva's influence grew after. Roc Nation's boxing division was in quick decline from 2018, all but ceased working in 2019 and closed down in 2020.
Build-up to the fight had forecast a potential match-up with the likes of Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua for Joyce, but this was Zhang's night and the victor made known his own intentions to chase down the title holders.
Hrgovic lands a right over the snappy jab of Dubois. And another. And another. He’s finding that right cross early. And another, timing a dip from Dubois. And another. Dubois returns and Hrgovic lands a left. A lot of aggression early from Dubois is creating windows for Hrgovic.
In conclusion, Zhang Zhilei is a heavyweight boxer who has earned himself a place among the world's top boxers in his division. His 24-1-1 record and 19 knockouts attest to his incredible athleticism and ultimate power. With an upcoming title fight against Joe Joyce, boxing enthusiasts and fans across the globe are looking forward to witnessing the fight and perhaps see if Zhilei can add a title defense to his impressive record.
If Joyce had won, he would have extended his perfect 16-0 record but his infamous inability to take punches eventually caught up to him. The ‘Juggernaut’ had so far won all 15 of his boxing bouts prior to the loss against Zhang.
It marked the first professional defeat of Joyce's career while for zhang zhilei net worth it was the perfect response to his divisive first career defeat at the hands of Filip Hrgovic in their IBF title eliminator last August.
George, now 39, is a Brooklyn native of Guyanan descent who was a two-time National Golden Gloves champion and light heavyweight contender before his career wrapped in 2009. He went over to China in 2010, training the larger boxers of the Chinese national amateur team, including Zhang. He began learning Mandarin while in China, picking it up from the boxers in the gym and asking what certain phrases meant.
Neither man landing the same big shots they were previously. Plenty of jabs both ways. Good right hand from Dubois lands over the rop. Hrgovic is cut but that was from a headbutt. And Hrgovic lands two good right hands. Dubois lands one of his own but Hrgovic lands another one. The jabs have dropped off as power punches are now the round.
.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-parser-output .citation:target ^Note 1 For WBO interim heavyweight title ^Note 2 For vacant WBC interim lightweight title ^Note 3 For Commonwealth Boxing Council and WBC International Silver lightweight titles ^Note 4 For British middleweight title
Con sus posibilidades, su carrera estaba en Estados Unidos. De hecho, sólo ha peleado cuatro veces como profesional en su país. Se pasó al pugilismo rentado con 31 años, pese a ello le fueron llevando la carrera con calma. Él siempre ha mantenido que la edad no importa si te cuidas. En su caso está en lo cierto, ya que poco a poco fue creciendo. En 2018 vivió un punto de inflexión. Sufrió cáncer en la tiroides y estuvo un año sin competir. Aquí volvió a demostrar su talante, no comunicó nada y pasó la enfermedad con la mayor discreción.
"I can fight any one of those guys, but do they want to fight me?," Zhang, a rare heavyweight lefty, muses through interpreter Kurt Li. "This is one of the major problems out there, maybe because I’m an underdog, I don’t have a name yet. And what if they lose?"
Nevermind. He lands a nasty left hook. Zinad eats it well but that was salty. And a right over the top! Zinad is on shaky legs!! Bivol pounces on him! Zinad staying on his feet but the hands are not up to defend. Bivol pours on the combos. Mean body shot and gets Zinad to the corner! Big right hand and that’s it! Ref jumps in to save Zinad on his feet.
As if Zhilei Zhang wasn’t already intimidating—as if being 6' 6" with Thanos-like fists didn’t make your knees rattle, as if back-to-back knockout wins last year over granite-chinned Brit Joe Joyce weren’t enough—on this particular mid-November afternoon, inside a nondescript gun range in northern New Jersey, Zhang has his fingers wrapped around a Sig Sauer P365 XL. Guns, Zhang insists, were never his thing. His trainer, Shaun George, introduced him to recreational shooting a few years ago; Kurt Li, his co-manager, translator and, it turned out, part-time range safety officer, showed him the ropes. The first time he pulled a trigger, his hands trembled.
In 2015, Zhang was signed to Roc Nation Sports, which Dino Duva also joined as an employee and boxing executive. Roc Nation, a music promoter, entered the boxing market in August 2014 with money but no plan. David Itskowitch, Roc Nation's founding chief operating officer of boxing, abruptly resigned in July 2016 and Duva's influence grew after. Roc Nation's boxing division was in quick decline from 2018, all but ceased working in 2019 and closed down in 2020.
Build-up to the fight had forecast a potential match-up with the likes of Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua for Joyce, but this was Zhang's night and the victor made known his own intentions to chase down the title holders.
Hrgovic lands a right over the snappy jab of Dubois. And another. And another. He’s finding that right cross early. And another, timing a dip from Dubois. And another. Dubois returns and Hrgovic lands a left. A lot of aggression early from Dubois is creating windows for Hrgovic.
In conclusion, Zhang Zhilei is a heavyweight boxer who has earned himself a place among the world's top boxers in his division. His 24-1-1 record and 19 knockouts attest to his incredible athleticism and ultimate power. With an upcoming title fight against Joe Joyce, boxing enthusiasts and fans across the globe are looking forward to witnessing the fight and perhaps see if Zhilei can add a title defense to his impressive record.
If Joyce had won, he would have extended his perfect 16-0 record but his infamous inability to take punches eventually caught up to him. The ‘Juggernaut’ had so far won all 15 of his boxing bouts prior to the loss against Zhang.
It marked the first professional defeat of Joyce's career while for zhang zhilei net worth it was the perfect response to his divisive first career defeat at the hands of Filip Hrgovic in their IBF title eliminator last August.
George, now 39, is a Brooklyn native of Guyanan descent who was a two-time National Golden Gloves champion and light heavyweight contender before his career wrapped in 2009. He went over to China in 2010, training the larger boxers of the Chinese national amateur team, including Zhang. He began learning Mandarin while in China, picking it up from the boxers in the gym and asking what certain phrases meant.