Boxing

Zhilei Zhang Picks The Harder Puncher Between Anthony Joshua And Deontay Wilder

Zhilei Zhang compares Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder's punching powers.
Apratim Banerjee|
IMAGO / Xinhua

Zhilei Zhang has fought some notable names over the course of his boxing career, including top names like Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.

Zhang defeated Wilder with a violent knockout in his last fight on June 1, 2024. Meanwhile, the Chinese powerhouse squared off against Anthony Joshua in the 2012 London Olympics.

They met in the quarter-finals of the London games and Joshua dropped Zhang before earning a win. Despite that, Zhang reckons no one hits harder than 'The Bronze Bomber', Deontay Wilder.

Zhilei Zhang against Denotay Wilder
IMAGO / Xinhua

Wilder notably landed only 16 punches during his fight against Zhang. The Alabama native, however, was able to give Zhang an estimate of his legendary power. Speaking to talkSPORT, Zhang said:

Right now it is Deontay Wilder. He hits very hard, I got caught with a big punch in the fifth round but I managed to take it and knock him out.
Zhilei Zhang

Zhilei Zhang will take on the undefeated Agit Kabayel in his next fight on February 22, which is set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Zhang also expressed interest in taking on Joshua in the professional circuit, saying:

If Joshua wants to fight me after the Kabayel fight then we can talk. He hasn't wanted to rematch me before, let's see about now.
Zhilei Zhang

Anthony Joshua, meanwhile, suffered a brutal knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in his last fight. Joshua was aiming for a Tyson Fury fight but 'The Gypsy King' retired. AJ's next opponent in the ring is yet to be finalized.

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Apratim Banerjee
APRATIM BANERJEE

Apratim is a Boxing and Soccer reporter for On SI. He has been in the industry for five years, having also worked for The Sporting News, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, and more. After coming from an engineering background, he started pursuing a career in sports media. Apratim also holds an MSc. Sport Marketing degree from Loughborough University London and is a keen practitioner of social media and digital marketing. In his spare time, Apratim likes to play an array of sports and practice calisthenics. He is also an avid enthusiast of improving his martial arts skills.