Zhilei Zhang got called out by Martin Bakole for dodging a fight with him. Bakole didn't hold back when he talked about Zhang and other heavyweights he thinks are scared to face him.
Zhang's been on a roll lately. He beat Joe Joyce twice in 2023, stopping him early both times. Then in June 2024, he knocked out Deontay Wilder in less than five rounds. That's quite a run for the Chinese heavyweight.
But Bakole's not impressed. He told iFL TV he's disappointed in Zhang and Agit Kabayel for not fighting him.
"I'm disappointed by 'Big Zhang' and [Agit] Kabayel. I was supposed to fight 'Big Zhang' or Kabayel but I'm not surprised they're scared, I'm not surprised they are fighting each other in Riyadh Season."
Bakole's got some big claims to back up his talk. He says he stopped Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois in sparring. He also calls himself the most avoided man in the division.
While Bakole's upset about not getting the Zhang fight, he's got his own big match coming up. He'll face Efe Ajagba in an IBF final eliminator. If he wins, he'll be the mandatory challenger for Dubois' title.
Zhang's moving on too. He's set to fight Agit Kabayel on February 22 in Riyadh for the WBC Interim Heavyweight World Title. The winner of that fight could end up facing unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Zhang's only recent setback was a close loss to Joseph Parker. Even in that fight, Zhang managed to knock Parker down in the middle rounds.
The heavyweight division's heating up with all these fights. Usyk's still the unified champ, but guys like Zhang, Bakole, Kabayel, and Ajagba are all trying to climb to the top. We'll see how it all shakes out in the coming months.
