Zhang Zhilei believes Anthony Joshua is avoiding him.
Zhang and Joshua met in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games in 2012, with Joshua winning by decision to win the gold medal. Since then, Zhang has expressed interest in making a comeback as a professional, but after his stoppage win over Deontay Wilder in June, “The Big Bang” believes he probably won't get the chance to avenge that loss.
“Mark what I say, he is not fighting with me,” Zhang said Wednesday. MMA Hour Through a translator, he said: “He's not going to fight me because we first clashed after the 2012 Olympics. It's been years since then. I was in Matchroom. [Boxing] And you know what happened. I don't think he's going to fight me. My manager flew out to London and I had a word with him. So I don't think he's going to fight me.
“Look at his past opponents – Francis Ngannou at UFC, Robert Helenius. I don't think he's good enough to compete against me. The way he picks his opponents says a lot about him.”
After their Olympic bout, both fighters built impressive professional records, with Zhang winning the interim WBO heavyweight belt and Joshua becoming the unified heavyweight champion for a second time. For many years, Joshua was seen as the next big thing in boxing, but Zhang says Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn protected his investment.
“Eddie doesn't think so either. They don't want that,” Chang said. “He's a cash cow for Eddie.
“The closest I came to getting a deal done was after AJ lost to Usyk and I lost to Filip Hrgovic in Saudi Arabia. My manager got an invitation and flew to London to speak to them but was turned down.
“I don't know why. There's no reason. It's his problem. But if he wants to fight, I'm all for it.”
For all his achievements, Joshua has also faced some harsh criticism in recent years. Since his shocking loss to Andy Ruiz in 2019, Joshua has become a more cautious fighter and has put in lukewarm performances in his subsequent bouts. However, since losing consecutive bouts to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua seems to be back to his best form, winning four straight fights, three of which have been by stoppage. However, Chang says he's not sure whether Joshua is “returning” or if he's simply fighting less skilled opponents.
“People might say he's back,” Chan said. “He knocked out Ngannou in two rounds, he knocked out Robert Helenius, he's beaten Jermaine Franklin, Otto Wallin. I can't say he's back until I've faced him in the ring and tested him with my fists.”
Unfortunately for Zhang, that doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon. Joshua will fight Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title in September, but if he wins, a clear heavyweight title bout will most likely be set up with the winner of the Usyk vs. Tyson Fury rematch later this year.
With Joshua out of the running for now, Zhang is looking to get revenge in a different way – namely to avenge his majority decision loss to Joseph Parker in March.
“I'm keeping an eye on the top-ranked fighters,” Chan said, “Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are definitely ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, so I'd definitely look to fight them. And if I go down the rankings, Agit Kabayel is also ranked highly, so he might be on my radar as well.” [Or] “Parker. Rematch.”
