They appeared to be in different weight classes Saturday, too, as Zhang outweighed Wilder by 68.2 pounds — at 282.8 compared with Wilder’s 214.6. There is no weight limit in boxing’s heavyweight division.
The bout was confirmed at a news conference in London on Monday, as part of the blockbuster “Matchroom vs Queensberry” five-on-five event, a mouthwatering five-bout series between two famous British promotions as a buildup to the unification clash between Russia’s Beterbiev, the WBO, WBC and IBF champion at 175 pounds (79 kg), and his fellow WBA champion, Bivol, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
That combination allowed Tyson to cruise to the top of the boxing world and claim the heavyweight title at only 20 years old. While he may have fallen from grace—both in and out of the ring later own—prime Mike Tyson was a force of nature. Between his brutal knockouts and powers of intimidation, he lived up to his title of ‘the baddest man on the planet.’
But the Chinese fighter had his shorter and lighter opponent in trouble from early on as Joyce provided a static target for Zhang’s booming left hand and plenty of work for his corner as cuts opened up.
Mike Tyson’s itch to fight, superstardom and the significant tattoo on his face, are the three things that still replicate his aura. Mike Tyson has featured a tattoo on his face for quite some time. Tyson’s tattoo is also a popular symbol world-wide, especially after it was used by actor Ed Helms in ‘The Hangover’.
The 2008 Olympic silver medalist from China, began his career later than most, turning professional at 31. He steadily worked his way up the heavyweight division until securing a fight with Filip Hrgovic, who features on the undercard, site in yahoo.com 2022.
An unusual training technique? Sure, but Zhang is not your usual fighter. Like, what is a two-time Chinese Olympic heavyweight doing in suburban Jersey? For that you have to go to Terry and Tommy Lane, cofounders of Lane Brothers Boxing. In 2009 the Chinese national boxing team began making sporadic trips to the U.S. for training camps. Eventually the Lanes, then small-time promoters in Nevada, began hearing chatter about some of the talent, including Zhang, who punched his way to a silver medal at the ’08 Beijing Games. The Lanes linked up with Dino Duva, a veteran U.S. promoter who had built some relationships in China. Together, the trio formed Dynasty Boxing, negotiating with the Chinese government to turn a handful of fighters pro, including Zhang, and bring them to the United States. Duva, the former president of Main Events, was based in New Jersey. So, in ’14, Zhang went there.
After the fight resumed, Tyson missed with a left hook but then connected with a thunderous right hand to the jaw that caused Etienne to collapse, his back leg buckling in spectacular fashion. There was no way he was getting back up. Etienne had landed only one left hook, failing to even test the tattoo on the left side of Tyson’s face.
They reunited in October of 2017 when Zhang switched back to George after a stint with trainer Diego Rosario. Their first fight together in July, Zhang’s first in 10 months, resulted in Zhang’s sixth straight first-round knockout win. That’s more an indication of the level of competition he’s been fighting, but Zhang had been near an opponent befitting his aspirations a few days prior when he posed for photos next to Joshua at a press conference for the DAZN streaming app.
“Mike, were you really sick this week, what was the problem?” enquired Gray of the contest’s on-again, off-again build-up. “I broke my back,” Tyson replied. “What do you mean by that, a vertebrae or…?” asked the perplexed Gray. Tyson’s famous one-word reply was simply: “Spinal.”
He has gone to Federal District Court in St. Louis to ask a judge to stop Warner Brothers Entertainment from using the tattoo in its posters or in the movie, which would amount to stopping the film from being released, as well as to demand monetary damages for what he calls “reckless copyright infringement” by the studio.
Now the whole world knew it: Tyson was so mean, he could knock you down twice with one punch. And he could punch you drunk in under six minutes. And the kid was only 20, the youngest world heavyweight champion in history.
“I’m just disappointed with my performance,” Joyce told BT Sport after what was his 16th pro fight. “The right hand he kept hitting me with. I couldn’t get out of the way, so respect to Zhilei Zhang, ‘Big Bang’. I haven’t fought a southpaw for so long. … I expected to win like I normally do.