It’s ten years since Chinese boxing’s best heavyweight hope entered a ring with Anthony Joshua. The 2012 London Olympics saw AJ take on the man known as Ling Lang with the British fighter earning a points win at the quarter final stage.
Joshua turned professional after winning the Gold Medal in 2012 while Zhang would remain at the amateur level for another two years. Both men are fully fledged pros in the modern day, but their careers have taken completely different paths. Out for Revenge After defeating the American Craig Lewis via a second round TKO in 2021, Zhang Zhilei outlined his plans through 2022. Even as he approaches his 40th birthday, it was clear that the Chinese veteran carried some high ambitions. A title fight in the heavyweight division remains at the top of his list and Zhang has an old rival still in his sights. Memories of 2012 may still be hurting the Asian boxer and he made it clear that he was keen for a rematch against his former amateur British opponent. The one issue for Ling Lang is the fact that Anthony Joshua is not a current world champion. Revenge would be sweet but it wouldn’t earn Zhang the title that he craves. If, however, he can be patient for just a fraction longer, the 39-year-old may get a chance to have a shot at two of his targets. Joshua’s Current Challenges Anthony Joshua lost his heavyweight title at the hands of Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021. Usyk won by a unanimous decision and AJ almost immediately took the opportunity to trigger a rematch clause. Plans for that second fight have been unavoidably delayed but it now looks set for July 2022. Among those who are certain that it will take place are the sportsbooks who have had a market in place for Joshua v Usyk 2 for some time. According to the best sports betting sites in Saudi Arabia and beyond, Usyk is the favourite to win the upcoming bout. The odds are supplied by sources linked to Arabianbetting.com and the market will start to fill up as soon as a fight date is confirmed. There will also be a choice of other bets for the rematch and Arabianbetting.com will post any relevant news and opinion stories in the lead up to the first bell. Any odds updates will also be shown and, if any readers want to get involved in those markets, they are welcome to do so. Each of the sports betting companies mentioned on this site are willing to take on new customers’ subject to eligibility requirements and a secure sign up form. Once that stage is complete, many have generous welcome offers in place. Funds will be needed in order to make an opening bet and there are a number of deposit methods which can facilitate this. As the account moves forward, other sporting markets, mobile apps and in-play betting are set to be among the other advantages. A defeat for Anthony Joshua in this follow up bout could open the door for Zhang Zhilei. It wouldn't be a title fight, but it would offer the experienced Chinese a chance for overdue revenge. Zhang’s Impressive Record After that win over Craig Lewis in November of last year, Zhang Zhilei followed up with yet another victory. This time, he secured a knockout over Scott Alexander at the beginning of May 2022. Overall, Ling Lang has appeared in 25 professional fights. He’s won 24 of them while the other ended in a draw. That’s an exceptional record by anyone’s standards. While it’s true that many will question the standard of some of his opponents, any boxer can only perform against the fighters put in front of them and that’s exactly what Zhang has done. It also suggests that he deserves at least one shot at the big time before he hangs up his gloves. Anthony Joshua is in his sights but there are many other top heavyweights in this division. After such a long and distinguished boxing career, it would be good to see Zhang Zhilei given the chance to prove that he can battle with the best.
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