Actuellement sur deux victoires avant la limite, Zhilei Zhang cherche toujours qui sera son prochain adversaire Vaincu par Filip Hrgovic en 2022, Zhang n’a pas souhaité se rabaisser et a osé affronter la star montante Joe Joyce qu’il a finalement vaincu deux fois par T/KO durant l’année qui vient de…
Life is inherently unpredictable. Just as a boxer cannot predict every move of their opponent, we cannot foresee every challenge or obstacle that life will throw at us. This unpredictability is the ‘punch in the mouth’ Tyson refers to. It is the unexpected setbacks that disrupt our plans and forces us to reassess our strategies.
It’s just not popular. Not yet anyway. China has 1.4 billion people, but, says promoter Bob Arum, “that doesn’t mean anything. India has number of people, and you couldn’t sell a ticket to Mahatma Gandhi fighting for the title.” In 2013, Arum signed Zou Shiming, Zhang’s Olympic teammate. The relationship was successful, with Zou even winning a 112-pound title. But he failed to capture national interest. “The problem was the guy couldn’t f—ing fight,” says Arum. “He won two gold medals, I don’t know how, but he couldn’t fight.” Zhang, Arum says, is different. “Heavyweights are the baddest guys see in bing.com the world,” says Arum. “And I think his ability is much greater than Zou’s was.”
Mike Tyson is one of the greatest boxers of all time. Over his career, “Iron Mike” had 50 wins, including 44 knockouts, and only six losses. Coming from a difficult childhood, during which he was surrounded by crime and poverty, he escaped his circumstances through a laserlike focus on his dream of athletic greatness. And he realized that dream by becoming the world heavyweight champion at the age of 20, in 1986.
In 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. He was released on parole after three years. After his release in 1995, he engaged in a series of comeback fights, regaining the WBA and WBC titles in 1996 to join Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Tim Witherspoon, Evander Holyfield and George Foreman as the only men in boxing history to have regained a heavyweight championship after losing it. After being stripped of the WBC title in the same year, Tyson lost the WBA title to Evander Holyfield by an eleventh round stoppage. Their 1997 rematch ended when Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ears, one bite notoriously being strong enough to remove a portion of his right ear. In 2002, Tyson fought for the world heavyweight title, losing by knockout to Lennox Lewis.
Meeting the Mentor: In 1980, Tyson’s journey intersected with Cus D’Amato, a legendary boxing trainer. D’Amato saw in Tyson a boxer with raw talent and a young man needing guidance. He became a father figure to Tyson, offering him not just training in the sport but life lessons.
“This is a massive win for Israil, for Matchroom,” said Madrimov’s promoter, Eddie Hearn. “They talk about he’s a young Gennadiy Golovkin. … Undisputed at 154 is the plan. Terence Crawford, Tim Tszyu. … He’s coming for all the belts in the division.”
After several months of skirmishes and the death of several of his men, a wounded and bedraggled Guevara was captured by the Bolivian army Oct. 8, 1967. He was executed under orders from Bolivian President René Barrientos, on the afternoon of Oct. 9, 1967. According to a U.S. Department of Defense intelligence report, Guevara said to his executioner — a young Bolivian sergeant who had volunteered to shoot the prisoner — “Know this now, you are killing a man.”
Round 4: Joyce staying busy, staying busy. The creeping back into it he did in round three continues in round four, and in the first minute Zhang isn’t throwing back much at all. Joyce circling to Zhang’s right. Zhang with a left, but not as much on that one as some of the others, and just one shot. Joyce digging here and there to the body. Zhang with two straight lefts. Another one, that one had zip on it. Joyce back with a clubbing left hook. Another left from Zhang pops Joyce’s head back. And there’s a right hook. And again, now, Zhang is landing the clearly harder shots, more telling, and Joyce is peppering away. Zhang 10-9, 40-36.
But Zhang still faces a wait to get to Usyk as the WBO’s No. 1 challenger. Usyk is expected to hold talks with Fury about a unification title fight, and IBF mandatory challenger Filip Hrgović is then next in line for a shot at Usyk.
George liked China, so much so that when Zhang turned pro and moved to New Jersey, George stayed behind. Three years later, in 2017, Zhang, his career floundering, asked him to become his head trainer and George agreed.
Round 1: Both sticking their lead hands out in the first minute, nothing with commitment. Zhang the first to throw a power shot, and the left hand got there. Joyce getting tagged with big shots early! That’s not unusual, but Zhang can really crack, this isn’t Joe Parker. No offense, Joe Parker. Body shot from Zhang. Joyce stiff and slow, missing shots, Zhang making him pay for it a bit. Zhang with another left. Zhang 10-9.