It’s a new year, and heavyweight Zhilei Zhang aims to get back to winning ways, revealing the fighters he would like to face: Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury, Fabio Wardley, and Derek Chisora.
2025 wasn’t a good year in the ring for 42-year-old Zhang (27-3-, 22 KOs) from Zhoukou, China, who lost in February to Agit Kabayel by a body shot knockout in the sixth round of their fight. Although the fight’s momentum was swinging in Zhang’s favor, especially after he knocked down Kabayel in the previous round, the younger heavyweight managed to finish Zhang, much to the surprise of spectators. Zhang had just stopped Deontay Wilder eight months earlier and was close to a title shot before being stopped by Kabayel.
After that loss in February, Zhang couldn’t secure a fight with anyone, even though he accepted various potential opponents offered to him, according to Team Zhang. There were even serious talks about Zhang facing Chisora in December, but that fight never materialized, leaving Zhang with only one fight in 2025, which isn’t ideal for a fighter over 40. According to Terry Lane, who advises Zhang along with his brother Tommy, there weren’t many opponents they refused to face, and Zhang is clear about who he wants to face next.
“This business can really test your patience,” Lane told FightsATW. “Zhang has said ‘yes’ several times over the past seven months, and those fights just never materialized. We are now targeting early April in London for a fight I think the fans will love.” Lane continued, “I spoke with Zhilei today, and his 2026 wish list/hit list are the following: Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury, Fabio Wardley, and Derek Chisora.”
When you look at the potential opponents that Zhang has named, they are all fights that could happen, especially since they are all under Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, which promotes Zhang. Any one of those opponents would make for a great fight, but it takes two to tangle, so it’ll be interesting to see if any of the four agree to face Zhang in what could be a fight in April, as mentioned by Lane.
While Zhang fought only once in 2025, he stayed in the gym, and the time away from the ring gave him the chance to work on himself physically and pursue activities outside of boxing; one of which is opening a business, which is sure to be part of his future plans after boxing.
“He has had some very cool things happen in the meantime,” said Lane. “Firstly, he got back in the gym in the summer after he recovered from a procedure in China to remove calcium deposits from his right elbow that caused him a lot of pain. But then he opened up a restaurant in Times Square with his longtime friend and supporter, Chef Peter Song, called Three Kingdoms Barbecue. He also went to Italy to carry the torch for the Winter Olympics, which was a great honor.”
As DAZN continues to fill the schedule for the next couple of months, Team Zhang hopes that their fighter is on a fight card, so the upcoming weeks will be interesting to see what comes up, especially with the recent news that Fury is out of retirement and back in the gym.
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