Zhilei Zhang’s manager Terry Lane has his sights set on returning his heavyweight charge back to the homeland.
Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KOs) has only fought four times in his native China. His last bout on home turf came in 2018, a third-round stoppage against Donald Haynesworth.
“We very much want to see that happen before he hangs them up,” Lane said exclusively to Boxing Social. “We are always exploring that option. There are some partners that we work with in China. It’s just so much harder to do that anywhere else in the world. It’s something where we just need a long runway to do it. Nothing in the plans yet, but we would love to bring a monster fight to China.”
Over the years a mega-clash between Zhang and Anthony Joshua has been heavily explored by promoter Eddie Hearn, with the 100,000-capacity Bird’s Nest in Beijing touted as the venue. The two heavyweights have history, with Joshua defeating Zhang in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
“He was there at the Olympics in 2008 and it would be very fitting to do that,” Lane explained. “Whether it is AJ or someone else, [Oleksandr] Usyk has to travel a lot on the road, so we wouldn’t mind that either. We have back-channel talks with everybody, but we will see.”
Age is not looking favorably on the 2008 Olympic silver medalist, who will turn 43 on May 2.
“It isn’t, but you just never know,” Lane said. “The old saying that a fighter gets old overnight — you never really know until it happens.”
Zhang has also recently undergone surgery for something he has been carrying his entire professional career, but his team have never made it public.
“He’s like a new man with the pain gone in his right elbow,” Lane added. “It’s obviously something we weren’t talking about. It wasn’t an injury, it was a condition. Obviously it is the same right hook that knocked out Joe Joyce, but he feels better now than he has in years. We really want to see how he responds to that procedure he had done after that Kabayel fight. Retirement doesn’t seem to be on the radar right now. Listen, the moment that I see it, I will say something. I think he’s a smart enough man and not too proud to go too long.
“It’s actually a condition that I remember discussing with him during his pro debut in 2014. These little calcium deposits just build up and they have to get in there and remove them. It’s not a major procedure, but it put him out for a couple of months. The second he got back in the gym and hit a bag, he felt the relief.”