Zhilei Zhang Claims Anthony Joshua Will Never Fight Him

Zhilei Zhang doesn’t think Anthony Joshua will ever fight him.

Zhang is coming off a KO win over Deontay Wilder in his last fight to keep him in title contention at heavyweight. The Chinese heavyweight is hopeful he can get a big fight next time out, but doubts it will be Joshua.

Zhang and Joshua have a history as they both competed at the 2012 Olympics, but now that they are pros, the Chinese heavyweight says Joshua will never fight him.

“Mark my words, he’s not fighting me. He’s not going to fight me, ever,” said Zhang when speaking on The MMA Hour. “Because after the 2012 Olympic Games, that was when we initially collided. After that, it’s been so many years. I was with Matchroom, and I know what happened. I don’t think he’s ever going to fight me.”

Ultimately, Zhilei Zhang says he went to London to talk about his next opponent, and when he asked about Anthony Joshua he was immediately shut down. Zhang believes Joshua is hand-picking easy opponents as he knows he’s not going to box the best heavyweights.

“My managers flew to London, and I got words. So, I don’t think he’s going to fight me. Look at his previous opponents – Francis Ngannou from the UFC, Robert Helenius, I don’t think he has what it takes to stand up to me. The way he picks his opponents says a lot about him,” Zhang added.

Zhilei Zhang is 27-2-1 and is coming off a KO win over Deontay Wilder. Before that, he dropped a majority decision to Joseph Parker back in March to lose his interim WBO heavyweight title. In his career, Zhang holds notable wins over Joe Joyce, twice, Devin Vargas, Andriy Rudenko, and Peter Graham among others.