Zhelie Zhang wants a rematch with Anthony Joshua in China
2 min read
Zhelie “Big Bang” Zhang wants to promote professional boxing in China repeating the vast success obtained by tennis and gold as well as football and basketball in the recent decade.
Zhelie Zhang, Chinese heavyweight boxer, has recently knocked Devin Vargas out to secure his 22nd victory in his professional boxing career. Last 7 November, Zhang landed a big left hand to his opponent to leave him unconscious. This was also the first fight of Zhelie Zhang to be promoted by Eddie Hearn’s MatchRoom Sport. Zhang impressed everybody by his dominating victory in the fourth round, and now he is demanding to get an opportunity to fight for a belt.
His plan is not only to have a chance to become world champion but to bring top-notch professional boxing to China, a country of more than 1.3 billion people with massive economic potential. Over the last years, several sports landed in China with great and unexpected economic results.
In 2012, before starting his professional career, the Olympic silver medalist had lost a fight to Anthony Joshua, and now Zhang wants a rematch in China. In one of his recent interviews with SkySports, Big Bang described that millions of people in China are waiting to watch a big fight happening there in line with what Joshua did in Saudi Arabia for his rematch against Andy Ruiz.
Zhang said that whenever a Chinese talks about boxing, is just about a rematch against Anthony Joshua. In addition, Zhang stated that despite a lot of people in China prefer football, NBA, tennis and golf, for instance, a rematch between him and Anthony Joshua or any other super-fight would be massive attracting the attention of hundred millions people easily.
Many commentators, after the remarks of Zhelie “Big Bang” Zhang about fighting AJ in China, understood the reason why the Chinese boxer decided to change promoter and be part of the Eddie Hearn’s MatchRoom Sport. Eddie Hearn is also the promoter of Joshua and it may be easier to strike a deal under the umbrella of the same organization.
In the meantime, it seems that Anthony Joshua will not run out of potential opponents. As reported over the last weeks, a long list of fighters are knocking on AJ’s door from Tyson Fury, to Oleksandr Usyk and, now, also China is calling…
