Zhilei Zhang

Zhilei Zhang, also known by his nickname “Big Bang,” was born on May 2, 1983, in Zhoukou, Henan, China. Zhang’s journey into boxing began in his home country, where he honed his skills and developed a strong passion for the sport. His southpaw stance and towering height make him a formidable opponent in the ring.

Zhang’s amateur career was marked by notable achievements, including bronze medals at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships, and a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics, all in the super-heavyweight division. His professional career took off when he announced his decision to turn pro on March 10, 2014, in New York City. Zhang made a stunning debut by knocking out Curtis Tate in the first 17 seconds of round one in Fallon, Nevada, on August 8, 2014.

Throughout his career, Zhang has demonstrated his prowess in the ring, maintaining an impressive record. He compiled a perfect record of 20–0 before fighting Andriy Rudenko in Monaco on November 30, 2019. Zhang dominated the Ukrainian veteran and secured a convincing unanimous decision win. Despite a majority draw against Jerry Forrest in February 2021, Zhang bounced back and continued to impress in his subsequent fights. One of his most memorable victories came on April 15, 2023, when he defeated Joe Joyce and secured the WBO interim heavyweight title.

Zhilei Zhang is poised to establish himself as a WBO superstar in his upcoming bout against Joseph Parker, following his notable victory over Joyce. The clash between interim WBO heavyweight titlist Zhang and former WBO champ Parker is scheduled for March 8 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Zhang's impressive triumph over Joyce, an American Olympic icon who turned professional after winning a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics, resulted in the loss of Joyce's unbeaten record and the WBO interim heavyweight belt. The sixth-round stoppage, where Zhang's accurate punches closed Joyce's right eye, sets Zhang on the path to potentially becoming one of the most formidable figures in the heavyweight division. His aspirations include being the next undisputed unified champion or lineal champion, marking Zhang as a force to be reckoned with in the world of boxing.

Zhang Zhilei operates from a southpaw stance optimized to do one thing. Land his big rear left hand. He does this by standing in a bladed stance or sideways stance. This allows him to turn with his hips and create more torque when he throws his left hand. This in turn allows him to generate more power on that left-hand punch than if his stance was more squared up. This big left hand would be useless if he did not have any tools to set it up and land it. His main tool for setting up his power left hand is his probing lead right hand.

Zhang will stand with his lead hand almost always extended. This extended lead hand serves multiple functions such as controlling his opponent’s gloves, blinding or distracting his opponent, and holding his opponent in place all so he can find an opening for his big left hand. After Zhang throws his left hand, the big turn of the hips puts him in a square position that allows him to naturally load up a lead right hook to follow up. At this point, if his opponent isn’t knocked out, Zhang will transition to his inside fight game, where he leans his weight on his opponent and makes them carry his weight while he digs in shots to the body. Once his opponent disengages, he repeats the process of setting up the left hand again.