Sideline Story

Zhang Zhilei: I hope to show Chinese power to the world

In this special edition of Sideline Story, we bring you an exclusive interview with Chinese heavyweight boxer Zhang Zhilei. Zhang labored to an impressive knockout win over former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder in the fifth-round in Riyadh last month. The 41-year-old shared his thoughts about his next opponent, the possibility that he would return for a fight on home soil in the future and Chinese boxers to be competing at the upcoming Olympics in Paris.

Duration:: 10m
Broadcast on:: 03 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

Hello and welcome to Sideline Story, your destination for sports news, analysis and discussions. I'm Yang Guaam. As the Paris Olympics nears, we bring you special editions that feature exclusive interviews with them with some of the best-down Olympians. In this episode, CGTN's Grackle of Radie sat down with Chinese heavyweight boxer Zhang Jielei. Zhang won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and also took part in the London Games four years later. He then turned into a professional boxer representing a prominent Chinese force in heavyweight division. Last month, Zhang scored the biggest win of his career, when he brutally knocked out former WBC World Champion Deontai Walter in the fifth round in Riyadh. In the interview, the 41-year-old shared his thoughts about that fight, his future in boxing and his message to Chinese athletes going to the Paris Olympics. The biggest win of your career over Deontai, Wilder, would you agree with that? Do you think this is the biggest win of your career and how did you feel after this victory? Thanks for your well wishes. It's another landmark in my career with the victory over Wilder, because that means I'm getting closer to Michael. You won't wait Wilder by about 68 pounds. This is more than 30 kilograms, I mean, you dwarfed him in the ring. Did you have extra confidence based on your size? How did you feel in there with somebody who's basically four weight divisions smaller than you? Wilder is lighter than me in weight, and that's my advantage. My fists are powerful in the heavyweight division, and all of my opponents are scared of me. Wilder, of course, the bronze bomber, he's known as one of the most fearsome power punches, despite being a very light heavyweight, he's always been known for this vicious right hand. In his fight against his loss against Joseph Parker, he was rather tentative. He's being criticized for not really letting go. Previous fights, he would really attack guys, and they were same against you. He was clawing the left, he was jabbing a lot, but he wasn't really letting go of the right hand. Did you feel that he was sort of scared or holding back with that? What do you think happened in that fight? Is he not really himself, and were you expecting this kind of a fight from Wilder? Well, at no idea, maybe because he didn't find an opportunity, but his right hand is really powerful. Looking back at his pass-bout, many fighters, including Tyson Fury, were knocked down by him, and some of them were even beaten into a state of shock and sent to a hospital, so the power of his right hand is really terrifying, but I managed to limit the use of his right hand. Both of my hands are powerful, but Wilder is only powerful with his right hand. I controlled him, so he had no space to attack. After the fight, you said, "The punch is pretty hard, that you felt some good shots." Do you think you took his best shots in the fight? How did you feel after the bout? I have said in training sessions in the pre-5 press conference that this is Chinese power versus Alabama power, I was a little bit dizzy when he punched me, but I held on and punched back when I got the chance and turned the tables. Actually, my coach told me that Wilder would continue to attack after he successfully landed a punch, so I needed to be very careful and defend well. In addition, I needed to look for opportunities to fight back, because there would be big gaps during his attacks, so I knew I could turn the tables as long as I found an opportunity. Well, now the question is, what's next? The heavyweight division is in a situation it hasn't been since 1999 when Lennox Lewis unified the belts. Now here we are again with Alexander Usek holding all four of them. So this puts a bit of a strange situation. So who do you want to take on next? Because Tyson Fury and Alexander Usek will have a rematch in December. They are excluded. But I still have many choices. For example, a rematch against Joseph Parker is that I have an agreement on terms with them. Anthony Joshua also can be considered an active capital as well. I have many opponents to consider, and I am okay with any of them. You've had a couple of fights in Saudi Arabia. I believe this one coming out, I mean it's a fantastic arena. The walkout alone was spectacular. You're coming out on that big T-shaped stage fireworks going off everything. How do you like fighting in Saudi Arabia, the reception from the fans and just everything going on there, the whole procedure? The atmosphere of competing in Saudi Arabia is very good, and people also have a lot of passion for boxing there through hosting these competitions Saudi Arabia is gradually becoming the World Boxing Center. I fought in Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2022 and I have two fights there this year. I felt really great. So how about China? You haven't fought in this country for many years. I know you would love that. Your star is on the rise. I mean you are really helping to grow the sport of boxing and you are a world-ward star after beating Jionte while they're a former world champion. You're a huge name now. What do you think the chances of a fight in China? How might that come about? Our team has been working on that. We want to hold a top-level fight in China so that Chinese boxing fans can enjoy it in a home soil. China now has many boxing enthusiasts and millions of people stayed up to watch the fight between Walter and I online. So I know they are looking forward to a grand fight being held in China. The Paris Olympics are coming up this summer. You fought in two Olympics. You won silver and Beijing 2008, fifth place in London 2012. Tremendous Olympic experience obviously. Can you tell us about how it's different fighting for your country at the Olympics as compared to fighting professional especially on the stage that you're now at? The feelings were the same. Before turning professional in boxing, the Olympics are our highest owner. So we represent our country in the Olympics and fight for the owner of the country. And even though after turning professional, I no longer represent the national team. When I step out of China, I represent China. So every time I fight, you can see China's national flag on my boxing shorts. And I would tell the boxing fans around the world, "This is Chinese power." And you do it very well. I know after your fight too, you talk about wanting to help the world learn more about China. You see yourself as an ambassador, not just for the country, but for the sport. And why is this so important for you? This is very important for me because I represent China, which Chinese have never been involved in heavyweight boxing before. After I won the silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, I knew that I could compete in heavyweight boxing. Then after I finished the 2012 London Olympics, I looked at professional boxing again. I was 31 years old at that time. Maybe in everyone's eyes, I was an older athlete, but in my heart, I was still young. After I turned professional, I could go even higher, so that's my motivation. I want to leave a strong mark for China's heavyweight on the heavyweight boxing stage. Again, about the Olympics coming up at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, you were there watching, supporting your countrymen in the competition. So obviously, tremendous support in association with the amateur boxers representing the country. Do you have any advice for your compatriots that will be competing in Paris this year? What would be your message to them? The Chinese dedication will compete for the country in the Paris Olympics that will begin next month. As a senior Olympian, I want to tell them, relax your minds and do your best to show Chinese power to the world. I hope all of them can achieve good results in Paris. Now, you are 41. You must be said that more of your career is certainly behind you than it is in front. You've definitely got a few fights left, and I expect to see you challenging for a world championship. Do you think about after what you might do after you retire? Would you be involved in boxing and helping the sport grow in China? Currently, my goal is to train for competitions. In this way, more boxing fans and teenagers can know more about the sport, and if they like it, they will take it up. My job is to publicize the sport. One last question to let you are now, not just a global star, but a massive star here in China. Any message for your new fans in China, many of whom probably weren't that interested in boxing, but now to see you representing the country like this, I think you're going to pick up a lot more eyes. Basically, there's going to be a lot more attention on you. So what would you like to say to them? I want to say thank you to all my fans around the world. Thanks for their support and love, and very grateful to them for following me and supporting me all the time. Thank you. That was CGT and Scratula Frady speaking with Chinese heavyweight boxer Zhang Jielei. With that, we end the special edition of Sightline Story. For more information, please visit our website, radio.cGTN.com. Until next time, see you. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]