Zhang Unlikely To Get Fury, Usyk-Fury Back On, Bellew On Zhang And More

In heavyweight boxing news, Zhilei Zhang’s manager,Terry Lane, is keen on his fighter facing Tyson Fury for the WBC heavyweight title. 

Following Zhang’s win over Joe Joyce for the second time, when he stopped the Brit in the third round, the Chinese called out Fury once again. Prior to the rematch with Joyce, Zhang was intent on facing the ‘Gypsy King.’

However, as Joyce exercised the rematch clause, the fight did not go ahead. But now that Zhang has come out victorious, a fight with Fury would make sense.

Zhang is the current WBO interim heavyweight champion, which puts him in position to fight Oleksandr Usyk for his unified heavyweight tiles.

However, until that mandatory is called, Zhang may be waiting for a while. Therefore, a Fury fight would give the Chinese a chance to grab the WBC heavyweight title. 

And yet, Lane confirmed that a fight between Fury-Usyk was being considered instead. 

Zhang’s Options

“We would love to fight Fury, but I do believe they are trying to make Fury vs Usyk next. We’ve got to see in a few weeks if they make that fight. If not, we’re not going to sit back and wait. There’s other names like (Deontay) Wilder out there, so it’s just really hard to say, but I do think after last night, there’s Usyk, Fury and Zhilei and then everyone else [in the heavyweight division.] But Zhilei is 40-years-old, he wants to fight big names and guys like Wilder are out there and we’re just going to have to see what happens,” Lane said 

Nevertheless, if those talks break down, a fight with Zhang could satisfy the public and Fury. The Chinese has knockout power ,and like Fury, he is a massive heavyweight who could give the ‘Gypsy King’ a run for his money.

Meanwhile, the chance to fight in China would open up more doors for Fury moving forward. So either way, a fight could prove satisfactory for both sides. 

Nevertheless, Tony Bellew was adamant that fighters would avoid Zhang. Outside of Fury and Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder are two other possible opponents that could challenge Zhang.

However, since the latter does not offer a belt nor is he undefeated, Bellew questioned the viability of anyone fighting Zhang. After all, it is a high-risk, low-reward fight just as Joe Joyce had discovered. 

Bellew On Zhang

“Now, if Zhang was an undefeated fighter, it’s a more attractive opposition to the other heavyweights out there because they’d be like, ‘I want to put a dent in him and be the first to beat him’.

“Because he’s now got a loss on his record, even though it’s not a proper loss, fighters will go, ‘Well listen if I beat him, everyone will say it’s because I’m supposed to, Hrgovic has already beaten him’. So he’s not an attractive option,” Bellew said 

Chisora On Zhang

One man who is willing to step up and face him is Dereck Chisora. The latter is known for fighting the best, having been in the ring with Usyk, Fury and Vitali Klitschko.

Despite having come up short at world level, Chisora continues to call out the big names. However, at the age of 39, the boxer is entering into the latter parts of his career. There have been calls on the fighter to retire.

Meanwhile, his record of late has not been the best. Chisora has lost the last four out of his six fights. And given that he offers nothing by way of belt, the chances of the fight are unlikely. And yet, Chisora is keen on making it happen. 

“I said, ‘I want Zhang. We’ll talk about it. We’re going to get Eddie Hearn to deliver it. It’ll be a long night, but I’ll beat Zhang. I like southpaws. Give him Daniel Dubois. Him and Dubois is a great fight,” Chisora revealed