Zhilei Zhang wants to fight Daniel Dubois. The 41-year-old Chinese heavyweight is on a hot streak and thinks he'd be too much for the young Brit to handle.
Zhang's had an impressive run lately. In June, he knocked out former world champion Deontay Wilder in the fifth round. The win was a brutal display of power that shocked many boxing fans. Before that, he lost a close decision to Joseph Parker in March, but not before dropping the New Zealander twice.
Last year, Zhang really made his mark by stopping Joe Joyce twice inside the distance. Joyce was seen as nearly unbeatable before those fights, but Zhang proved he's a real problem for anyone in the division.
Now, he's set his sights on Dubois, who just retained his IBF world title with a stunning upset over Anthony Joshua. Zhang told Boxing News he was impressed but thinks he'd be too much for Dubois:
"I always think highly of Daniel. His previous performances showed everybody what kind of person and fighter he is but I never expected him to drop Josh in the first round. That caught me off guard, it was a little shocking, but then in the third and fourth he kept dropping Joshua and finished it in the fifth. I could see the outcome before the fight but I had no idea it would end up in such a devastating fashion. Daniel continuing to win will boost his confidence and I can see him getting better and better."
But Zhang didn't stop there. He threw down the gauntlet to Dubois:
"However if he faces the 'Big Bang', it's going to be a nightmare for him. I can tell you this, if I meet him in the ring i'm going to 'Bang' him. Daniel said that after he takes care of AJ he was going to fight me and I'm here, if you want to go let's do it!"
Dubois might have other plans, though. He could rematch Joshua or wait for the winner of Oleksandr Usyk versus Tyson Fury in December. But Zhang's call-out adds another exciting option to the mix in the red-hot heavyweight division.
