Zhilei Zhang thinks Daniel Dubois will beat Anthony Joshua in their upcoming IBF Heavyweight Championship fight. The Chinese heavyweight shared his thoughts after his recent win against Deontay Wilder.
Zhang, known as "Big Bang," is enjoying a late career surge at 41. He stopped Joe Joyce twice in 2022 and recently knocked out Deontay Wilder in the fifth round of their March 2023 bout. His only setback was a points loss to Joseph Parker, despite scoring two knockdowns in that fight.
The veteran fighter lost to Joshua in the 2012 Olympics and now claims AJ is avoiding him. But Zhang's focus is on the upcoming Joshua-Dubois clash, and he's backing the underdog.
In an interview with BoxNation, Zhang explained why he favors Dubois:
"I personally favour Daniel Dubois to pull this off because he's on a surge. He's young, he's hungry, he has the fire in him. He had a beautiful knockout victory over Fillip Hrgovic last time so I really have my faith in the underdog and I believe he can win. I believe he will shock the world."
Dubois, the newly elevated IBF Champion, is coming off an impressive knockout win over Filip Hrgovic. Zhang thinks this momentum, combined with Dubois' youth and hunger, will give him the edge over Joshua.
When asked about the possibility of a knockout, Zhang didn't hold back:
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"Maybe. It may end with a knockout, Joshua's chin is always suspect in my opinion."
The Joshua-Dubois fight is set for August 2023. With Zhang's prediction adding to the excitement, fans will be eager to see if Dubois can indeed "shock the world" against the more experienced Joshua.