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It’s no secret that causals love heavyweight boxing, as the knockout is almost inevitable when you have two massive specimens in the ring. On June 1, heavyweights Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) & Deontay Wilder(43-3-1, 42 KOs) will square off in an event titled ‘5 vs. 5’, which pits Matchroom Boxing fighters vs. Queensberry Promotions.’ Both fighters are coming off losses, but Zhang’s is more recent, which was a little over a month ago against Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs). After the announcement, FightsATW checked in with Zhang’s advisor, Terry Lane, who opened up about this intriguing matchup against Wilder and how it all came together.
After Zhang lost to Parker in March, all roads pointed towards a rematch, as Parker stated during his post-fight interview. Little did Parker and everyone else know that other plans were in play. That other plan was Wilder, who came off a loss against Parker in December. Originally, Wilder was supposed to face Zhang in March, but the deal never saw the finish line. Shortly after the Parker loss, Zhang was offered the Wilder fight, and being that the fight was accepted when it was on the table before, it made for no hesitation this time around.
Lane told FightsATW, “Zhang vs Parker 2 is still an option, but we must get through Wilder first. I will say this: we were offered the Wilder fight very, very shortly after the Parker one, which was exciting and refreshing for us, to be honest. That was not a hard question (accepting the Wilder fight) to say yes to.”
Although the Wilder fight is here, fans are still interested in knowing how Zhang handled that March loss and if his team agreed with his assessment.
“Zhilei (Zhang) has been obsessing with the loss to Parker. He was getting countered and froze the last four rounds. He did think he was much more ahead in the eighth round. After eight rounds, he was ahead on two scorecards and even on one. He thought he had a much bigger lead, so he thought he could take his foot off the gas a bit but he definitely acknowledges that he wasn’t himself. My take is this: Days before, I saw him destroy people in sparring for twelve rounds, and I just think he had an off night. It happens in any sport. The better man won, and Parker fought a good fight.”
Now that the Wilder fight is happening, thoughts of the March loss can be placed aside. This fight will require what Lane describes as a “totally different approach,” with training camp already kicking off in London, UK. Lane isn’t shy about saying what’s at stake for both heavyweights: the opportunity to continue their boxing careers.
“I think Zhang wants people to know that he is going to be focused for this fight and knows what’s at stake. Both men are not young, and it’s kind of “do or die” for both. Zhang is acutely aware of that, which I think he would like to get across to anyone following the fight.”
Zhang vs. Wilder is part of a massive fight card on June 1 and will stream exclusively on ESPN+ here in the States.
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