ZHILEI ZHANG wouldn’t be drawn on how he may beat Daniel Dubois ought to they ever meet however the Chinese language heavyweight did dish out reward for the British fighter in a latest interview with Boxing Information.
Zhang’s profession suffered a setback in March, shedding to Joseph Parker on factors, however returned to profitable methods with an emphatic fifth-round victory over Deontay Wilder three months later.
The 41-year-old, who has an 81 per cent knockout ratio in 30 fights, has joined the road of rivals seeking to face Dubois who annihilated Anthony Joshua final month at Wembley Stadium.
Dubois, who has losses to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk on his report, now sits as IBF heavyweight champion and is within the type of his life. And Zhang has been impressed by ‘Dynamte’ Daniel and defined to BN precisely why.
“Folks suppose he’s a quitter however I by no means take a look at him as a quitter,” he mentioned.
“His battle earlier than Usyk (in opposition to Kevin Lerena) everybody mentioned he has a knee damage, his knee was bothering him. Right here’s what I see what folks don’t see. He’s a really sensible boxer and he’s a really sensible particular person. He is aware of how you can shield himself with a purpose to make a comeback.
“So, when [his] eyesocket was damaged (in opposition to Joyce), in that kind of situation he utilised the rule. He took a knee to guard himself for a greater comeback. That’s a really sensible transfer, clever and everybody see what occurred. He come again. Three fights in a row and put himself proper on prime of the mountain.
“I’m actually impressed by his mentality and the way he approaches issues however on the identical time he’s assured, he’s hungry, he’s younger – I believe he’s throughout an important fighter.”
