Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs), 27, from Liverpool, England, entered the fight full of confidence after some impressive wins, including a points victory over former junior featherweight champion Isaac Dogboe in November.
Round 4: The last round was a total toss up. Dubois comes out with pep again and zips a bevy of jabs into Hrgovic. And he’s getting Hrgovic backed up. Dubois has Hrgovic in the corner and he tags the body. Hrgovic gets off and he’s starting to jab. Lands a good right. Dubois with a 4-punch combo but it catches arms. Good right hand from Hrgovic off a jab. And another off a counter. When Hrgovic wants to go, it’s sharp. But he’s getting lazy.
Zhang could not access high-profile
matches to make himself known under Roc Nation until they parted ways in 2019. Zhang won 19 back-to-back low-profile fights under the Roc Nation banner. Zhang wanted better-known, tougher opponents with bigger payouts, but Dino Duva didn't do it. Zhang was particularly upset once when his promoter organized a match at a high school basketball court with a portable dressing room which
spectators could see into. Zhang felt he was not taken seriously by his promoter. He was paid around $7,000 for his pro debut, and some of his earlier pro fights were paid $2000 and $5000. When Shawn George became Zhang's head coach in 2017, George was upset by how the promoters saw Zhang as a novelty act along the lines of Nikolai Valuev. Dynasty Boxing's minority owners,
brothers Tommy and Terry Lane, believed Zhang would become "the Yao Ming of boxing" and clashed with Duva over his lackluster promotion of Zhang.
"I can’t wait to go out there and show everybody what I’ve been working on," said Joseph Parker to Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel about his fight against WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang this Friday.
Frank Warren (born 28 February 1952) is an English boxing manager and promoter. Warren and his son George own and run Queensberry Promotions. Warren was also a founder of the British boxing television channel BoxNation which ran for over 11 years from 2012.
Before the final round, Zhang’s trainer, Sean George, had told him to let his hands go in the 12th, and he nodded repeatedly, letting him know that he wouldn’t. He couldn’t follow the instructions because he was so exhausted, and he made Parker look better than he actually was.
Zhang, who has far nimbler feet and quicker reflexes, mixed in body shots with his left-hand bombs in Round 3, which ultimately set an already stunned Joyce for the big, well-timed right hook that ended the fight.
Raymond Ford, nicknamed "Savage," turned professional in March 2019. His undefeated record stands at 15 wins, 0 losses, and 1 draw, with 8 of those wins by knockout. Recently he defeated Otabek Kholmatov via TKO in March 2024 who posed a lesser challenge with a lower knockout rate. Given that record and fighting style, Ford seems well-prepared to handle Nick Ball's land-based attacks due to his dynamic fighting capability and high KO rate.
Round 3: Dubois comes out with a fire underneath him. He charges across and gets Hrgovic on his heels immediately. Dubois still steady with the jab and Hrgovic is now doing the same. Hrgovic looks a bit winded already. This has been a high-paced fight so far. But Dubois seems fresh and he’s taking the initiative now.
In 2020, while Zhang made a rare visit back home the day after Chinese New Year, his father died of a sudden cardiac arrest at home during COVID-19 lockdown in China. Zhang mistakenly believed his father to be choking and attempted the Heimlich maneuver to no avail.
When he moved to the United States on March 8, 2014, he had to manage and self-finance aspects of his life which had previously been handled by the Henan Provincial Combat and Weightlifting Center. Cooking for himself was the biggest challenge of his early days in the US. In his first few months as a professional, he spent more time learning how to properly cook noodles than he did working in the ring.
Zhang was born on May 2, 1983, in Qianzhangying village, Shicaoji Township, Shenqiu County, Zhoukou, Henan Province, China. Zhang is the tallest member of his family. By 15 years of age, he was 1.95 meters tall and weighed 120 kg. His father, Zhang Tan (1948–2020 ), was 1.76 meters tall while his mother, Deng Yuying stood just a shade over 1.6 meters tall. His elder brother and elder sister are of a more normal height.
But the Chinese fighter had his shorter and lighter opponent in trouble from early on as Joyce provided a static target for
zhulei zhang’s booming left hand and plenty of work for his corner as cuts opened up.
Round 3: Normal service resumes: Wilder backs off consistently and Zhang walks him down with ease. Left hand lands from Zhang. Left hook attempt by Wilder but it was mere nuisance value. Given how much was expected, this has been awful.
Zhilei Zhang (Chinese: 张志磊; pinyin: Zhāng Zhìlěi; born May 2, 1983) is a Chinese professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim heavyweight title between 2023 and March 2024. As of June 2024, Zhang is ranked as the world's fifth-best active heavyweight by The Ring magazine.
