Zhilei Zhang Tells Number 1 Ranked Heavyweight ‘Let Your Fists Do The Talking’ As Rivalry Heats Up

Zhilei Zhang is in impressive form right now having stopped Joe Joyce twice in 2023 and Deontay Wilder this June, though did lose on points to Joseph Parker in between.

 

The 41-year-old southpaw is rarely in a dull fight, and fans now want to see him in with Martin Bakole – the man who claims to be the most avoided heavyweight on the planet.

The Congolese fighter is in the form of his life having put together two good wins in back-to-back fights. The first was a knockout of notoriously tough Frenchman Carlos Takam back in October last year.

 

Then, this August, he took on the highly touted American prospect and knockout artist Jared Anderson and did a demolition job, putting him down in round one then twice more in round five before stopping him in the same round.

 

He has since spoken of plenty of fights he would like next including a rematch against Michael Hunter, the only man to beat him back in 2018, while Chinese heavyweight Zhang is also on his radar.

Speaking to BoxNation, Zhang has now reacted to a clip of Bakole claiming he will stop him and ‘make him cry or maybe retire’ should the two meet.

 

“You can talk very nicely in front of the camera, you can make me cry, you can put me to sleep, whatever you want to say, but at the end of the day let your fists do the talking, that’s what we’re here for.”

 

A match-up between these two big punchers would be explosive indeed, and Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh – perhaps the most powerful man in the sport currently – wants to make it happen. The other potential for ‘Big Bang’ is a rematch with Parker.