Zhilei Zhang vs Jerry Forrest

[DrDuke]

Sorta stole the mismatched Canelo-Yildirim show. Although it had also been expected to be a a mismatch.

The fight opened in a competetive fashion, but Zhang dropped Forrest in the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd. However, Forrest wasn't hurt much. The knockdown in the 3rd was early and Forrest even managed to come back in that round. Since then Zhang was done.

The rest of the fight was ugly, with a lot of clinching. mostly initiated by Zhang, who was exhausted. Forrest outworked and mauled Zhang down. Forrest's jab and body work were decent. Zhang was finally deducted a point in the 9th for holding.

The fight was scored as a MD draw, with one scoring for Forrest. I had Forrest winning 95-92. Another pro-side-A judging case.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Zhang will be moved to a title shot asap. Cash out for fury or Joshua voluntary defense

[DrDuke]

Zhang will be moved to a title shot asap. Cash out for fury or Joshua voluntary defense

He gotta face a couple of top 20 guys before. And he can get battered by them with a decent probability.

[jujigatame]

Zhang = Chinese David Price

[candyslim]

@DrDuke

Besides, if Joshua wins and I think he will, then he will want to fight Usyk/ Joyce. There will be Joshua v Fury 2 probably before that, and then he will be putting out fires, or if you prefer the analogy, playing 'whack-a-mole' with his mandatories because I imagine AJ would want to remain undisputed as long as possible.

He won't have much time for fitting in voluntaries and besides, he's not really one for fighting patsies is he? (with the possible exception of Molina)

[jockpunk]

Zhang = Chinese David Price

Price is way better but has one of the worst chins in boxing. zhang is just terrible.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Zhang will be moved to a title shot asap. Cash out for fury or Joshua voluntary defense

He gotta face a couple of top 20 guys before. And he can get battered by them with a decent probability.

Haha why? Hes ranked in the top 15. Its how this works.

[watsupdoc87]

Any half decent heavy just needs to talk the giant past 4 rounds and he's fuked

[Las Vegas boxing guy]

Zhang was one good punch away from getting knocked out. I can't remember seeing a more gassed out fighter than Zhang last night? He looked like he was going to pass out from exhaustion on his way back to the locker room.

[keirw]

Fight was an ugly mess, credit to Forrest for surviving early and nearly winning.
But Zhang sucks ass, him vs Joshua wouldn't even be a mismatch, it would be a public execution.

I doubt they will risk putting him in with any decent fighters until a sizeable payday presents itself.

[margaret thatcher]

Sorta stole the mismatched Canelo-Yildirim show. Although it had also been expected to be a a mismatch.

The fight opened in a competetive fashion, but Zhang dropped Forrest in the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd. However, Forrest wasn't hurt much. The knockdown in the 3rd was early and Forrest even managed to come back in that round. Since then Zhang was done.

The rest of the fight was ugly, with a lot of clinching. mostly initiated by Zhang, who was exhausted. Forrest outworked and mauled Zhang down. Forrest's jab and body work were decent. Zhang was finally deducted a point in the 9th for holding.

The fight was scored as a MD draw, with one scoring for Forrest. I had Forrest winning 95-92. Another pro-side-A judging case.

nah, 93-93 was the best score, zhang hurt forrest in the 4th too and won that

easy fight to score, zhang up 40-33 after 4, then everything else for forrest plus the deduction = 93-93, no a-side benefit there (lol am i on the zhang train too? ). scoring the third only 10-9 (omg pro-forrest bias!) is more generous than having the fight a draw

it was an ugly fight, they were mutually falling into each other all the time

[DrDuke]

scoring the third only 10-9 (omg pro-forrest bias!)

I scored that round 10-9! WAR JERRY!!!

[DrDuke]

In the 4th Forrest was always in control, despite an episode, where he got caught and felt it. But that's was all from Zhang there, he got bossed in whole in that round.

[margaret thatcher]

the 3rd only 10-9, the 4th to spaghetti legs jerry, come on now bruh, how much they pay you to shill for jerry

[DrDuke]

the 3rd only 10-9, the 4th to spaghetti legs jerry, come on now bruh, how much they pay you to shill for jerry

Even if to make the 3rd 10-8, the 4th should have been at least 10-10.

[Lackeos]

Zhang is basically a considerable threat for the first three rounds, but has no engine to do anything beyond that. If he had enough stamina for 4 rounds, he would've stopped Forrest. If he had the stamina to go 10 rounds, he'd pretty much be on-par with Joe Joyce. Dude's got great height, reach, weight, power, and decently educated fists. He's one of the few boxers I've seen who can radically improve his ability with just a normal amount of basic exercise.

[Fightnight Scores]

While it got scrappy it was an engaging bout after Zhang started gassing.
He could barely stand and breath as they were reading the scores.
Think any notion that he poses any danger can be quashed. How popular is boxing in China? Only way I see him getting a title shot is if he brings in huge PPV numbers from China?

[Boxing Prospect]

Zhang has fought 4 times in China, and his last fight there was in a half empty venue. The idea he's a big draw in China is hilariously inaccurate. There is no real connection between him and the Chinese audience.

And Chinese boxing doesn't do PPV, it's kinda... A country of boxing on internet streams left right and center, rather than a walled off paid sport

[Fightnight Scores]

Zhang has fought 4 times in China, and his last fight there was in a half empty venue. The idea he's a big draw in China is hilariously inaccurate. There is no real connection between him and the Chinese audience.

And Chinese boxing doesn't do PPV, it's kinda... A country of boxing on internet streams left right and center, rather than a walled off paid sport

Seriously? Boxing must be irrelevant in China.... i would of thought a Chinese heavyweight with a silver Olympic medal would draw some interest. I mean are you saying the first Chinese to fight for heavyweight title wouldn't draw any interest? Surely someone out of 1.5 billion is interested?

I think there's a poster here who lives in China- Carlos? I would like to hear his take.....

Yeah, given the vast numbers of people you'd expect a small percentage to have some interest, but that small percentage could easily equate to millions of people....but if there are no PPV broadcasting set ups there then I guess it might be more of a streaming community.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Zhilei Zhang Hospitalized, Held For Observation Following 10-Round Draw With Jerry Forrest

Zhilei Zhang was unable to come away with a win on the biggest stage of his pro career to date.

At this point, he will simply settle for a clean bill of health.

The unbeaten heavyweight was hospitalized for precautionary measures following a 10-round majority draw with Jerry Forrest this past Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The bout took place on the undercard of boxing superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s 3rd round stoppage of Avni Yildirim, with Zhang jumping out to a strong start before fading down the stretch.

His post-fight reaction provided some insight as to a contributing cause.

“Zhilei Zhang started off better than we could have hoped with three knockdowns in the first three rounds. But credit and respect to the game Jerry Forrest who battled back for a ten-round draw,” Terry Lane, Zhang’s co-manager noted in a statement on Sunday. “It was apparent to us that Zhang was not himself in the second half of the fight. He had a good training camp that included high quality sparring sessions.

“But in the locker room afterward, we noticed some concerning symptoms and took Zhang to the hospital where he will spend a couple of nights. The good news is that all of his neurological scans are clear. However, he is suffering from anemia, high enzyme levels and low-level renal failure, which may have been caused by severe dehydration.”

Zhang (22-0-1, 17 KOs) jumped out to as strong of a start as he and his team could have expected. The 37-year old, 6’6” southpaw from Zhoukou, China—who trains out Bloomfield, New Jersey under former light heavyweight contender Shaun George—knocked down Forrest (26-4-1, 20 KOs) in each of the first three rounds of their heavyweight bout. What seemed like a clear path to a landslide victory instead took a near disastrous turn, as Zhang dramatically slowed down in the second half and was badly rocked in the final minute of the fight.

A point deduction for excessive holding in round nine proved costly for the exhausted Zhang, with the infraction proving to be the difference between a narrow points win and the majority draw verdict to have instead come of the night. His post-fight demeanor in the locker room provided cause for his team to seek expert medical attention, with Zhang expected to be released on Monday after receiving his official diagnosis.

From there will come a hard discussion on next steps in his career.

“We will address these issues and Zhilei Zhang will be back,” vows Lane. “We want to thank everyone for their concern and kind words of support that our team has received.

“We also want to send a special thank you to Matchroom [Boxing] for providing such wonderful support at this time.”

The bout marked Zhang’s third straight on a Matchroom Boxing-promoted show, which began with a 10-round unanimous decision win over Andriy Rudenko on a Nov. 2019 show in Monte Carlo. In his most recent performance prior to Saturday night, Zhang scored a 3rd round stoppage of Devin Vargas on a Nov. 7 DAZN show from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

[margaret thatcher]

f@cking renal failure? damn!

he did not like that black forrest cake did he

[DrDuke]

That's it, Jerry "The Zhangernaut" Forrest has ruined the Chinese. Zhilei gotta abandon his hopes for the shot.