Zhang Zhilei of China is in talks to fight Tyson Fury, according to the British heavyweight boxer’s US promoter Bob Arum.
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].”
Pressed on whether Zhang was now the front runner to face Fury, Arum said: “Yes. It’s likely for July, we’re trying to close that out over this weekend.”
Zhang, from the central Henan province, last month told state-owned news channel China Global Television Network that he wanted a shot at one of the best in the division, be it Usyk, Fury or Joshua.
“I am very confident,” he said. “My goal is to become the world boxing champion. Now I am only one step away from that goal, so I will train harder.
“I will make myself stronger and hope I can defeat Oleksandr Usyk to become the first [heavyweight] boxing champion in China’s or even Asia’s history.
“I like to challenge the strongest. As I said before the [Joyce] fight, only by defeating the strongest can one become stronger.
“And now, people probably think that I am not strong enough, because there are real boxing champions above me, like Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua … They’re all strong fighters. So I want to challenge any of them.”