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Chinese heavyweight Zhang Zhilei ‘likely’ to fight WBC champion Tyson Fury in July
- Fury’s promoter Bob Arum says negotiations for the Briton’s next bout have focused on Zhang, after the failure to reach agreement with Oleksandr Usyk
- Zhang said after his shock stoppage of Joe Joyce in London last month that he aims to become China’s first heavyweight champion
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Zhang Zhilei of China is in talks to fight Tyson Fury, according to the British heavyweight boxer’s US promoter Bob Arum.
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The 40-year-old Zhang is the potential next opponent for WBC champion Fury in July, Arum said, after Fury’s failed attempts to set up a unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk, holder of the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles.
Zhang, nicknamed “Big Bang” and boasting a 25-1-1 record, has leapt up the pecking order thanks to his shock stoppage of Fury’s fellow Briton Joe Joyce in London last month. Joyce, previously unbeaten, had been the WBO’s mandatory challenger for Usyk.
Talking to Ringside Reporter Live, Arum was asked whether Andy Ruiz – the American who in 2019 briefly deposed Britain’s Anthony Joshua as unified champion – was expected to be Fury’s next opponent.
“No, not really,” Arum said. “We’re focusing on the Chinese kid that beat Joe Joyce, [Zhang].”
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