Heavyweight contender, Zhilei Zhang, has made his prediction ahead of the proposed undisputed title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, which has been in on-off talks since the beginning of the year.
Zhang will gave a keen eye on the clash after claiming the position of mandatory challenger with the WBO in a career-best win over Joe Joyce in April.
Not only did Zhang pull off the upset against a man many perceived to be a genuine threat to the titlists, but he dominated every minute of the contest and became the first fighter to knock out the granite-chinned Brit.
Now Zhang is poised alongside Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois as the mandatory challengers for Usyk’s three world titles, with Dubois set to get the opportunity to fight the Ukrainian this summer.
Zhang was linked to a bout with Tyson Fury instead, but seems set to rematch Joyce before he hopefully secures a title shot in 2024 with the two champions possibly meeting in Saudi Arabia in December.
In an interview with Pro Box TV, Zhang picked a winner for the proposed contest.
“One day it looks like it’s happening; the other day the negotiations went wrong, so you never know. What the boxing world and fans need and want to see is the strongest fighting the strongest.
“What I want to see is the strongest fighting the strongest. A lot of things get in the way. It seems like on the business side it’s out of fighters’ control.
“Usyk has a lot of skill, and his skill set is unbelievable. But Tyson Fury’s got almost every advantage you can get. The height. The reach. The distance, and the slickness. Tyson Fury prevails. But we’ll see.”
Tyson Fury is said to be soon receiving an ultimatum contract to fight Usyk.