EXCLUSIVE: Zhilei Zhang ready to fight Daniel Dubois on February 22nd
Daniel Dubois seemed poised to rematch Anthony Joshua in three months’ time but the fast turnaround from their first encounter appears to be too soon for ‘AJ’. Instead, Frank Warren and Dubois have been on the lookout for a worthy challenger and they may well have found one in Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang.
‘Triple D’ knocked Joshua out in front of 96,000 onlookers in a record-breaking event at Wembley Stadium in September, retaining his IBF world title with an authoritative performance that has seen him become a household name in the United Kingdom.
In typical Anthony Joshua fashion, ‘AJ’ sought to immediately right the wrong and requested that he and his newfound domestic rival rematched in Saudi Arabia, with the date of February 22nd being touted.
Yet, Frank Warren told BoxNation yesterday that the rematch is unlikely to take place on that date, with Joshua still recovering from injuries endured in his first encounter against his hard-hitting countryman.
“I don’t see that [Joshua rematch] happening next, so we are looking at a couple of things at the moment and we will make a decision. I was hoping that we could get it done fairly quickly, but we won’t be able to get it done fairly quickly.
Warren went on to declare that an opponent will have signed next week and that he is in talks with a number of contenders, before ruling out fellow Queensberry heavyweight Fabio Wardley as an option.
“Sometime in the next week we have got to be in a position where we can close on something, and we are talking to a few other guys.
“I want him out on that date [February 22nd] and he wants to be out on that date.”
“I don’t see that [Fabio Wardley fight] happening next, I can’t see it being next.”
“For me, that fight could be built into something mega, there is no doubt about that.”
Today, the WBA revealed their updated heavyweight rankings and there was one notable absentee, as Chinese knockout artist Zhilei Zhang dropped out of the rankings, having previously been positioned at #7.
As such, it can be assumed that Zhang will be fighting either WBO interim champion Joseph Parker or IBF champion Daniel Dubois. A source close to the fan-favourite 41-year-old has now confirmed to that the veteran wants to put his name into the mix for the latter.Mike Tyson vows to ‘slaughter’ Jake Paul as ruthless mindset re-emerges
Zhang twice knocked out one of only two men to have defeated Dubois as a professional when he halted Joe Joyce on two occasions last year but the world title plans of the southpaw bogeyman were derailed when he lost his WBO interim strap to Parker in March.
However, Zhang was able to bounce back into contention just three months later when he returned to the ring with a five-round demolition of former WBC champion Deontay Wilder.ZHILEI ZHANG KNOCKS OUT DEONTAY WILDER IN THE 5TH ROUND 😱🚨
(via @DAZNBoxing) pic.twitter.com/UP7kZGITSL
Since then, Zhang has not returned to action but he has been vocal in his call-out of both Oleksandr Usyk and Dubois, demanding a fight with the Brit shortly after his September beatdown of Joshua.View this post on Instagram
Dubois-Zhang would be expected to headline the February 22nd card in Riyadh, but Eddie Hearn’s promotion of the bill has led others to believe that Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn could also meet on what would be yet another blockbuster ‘Riyadh Season’ event.pic.twitter.com/atoEFMrN4P
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Alternatively, a second ‘Matchroom vs. Queensberry; five versus five’ has been touted for the date but Dubois-Zhang would need to be excused as the main-event, such as was the case when Dmitry Bivol headlined against Malik Zinad on the last show of that nature.
