Hearn Open To The Idea Of AJ Vs. Zhang

Eddie Hearn is open to the idea of Anthony Joshua and Zhilei Zhang facing each other in China. 

The two boxers do have history after having fought each other at the 2012 Olympics in London. During that period, the Brit overcame the Chinese as he walked away as an Olympic champion later down the line. But since that fight, both men have had contrasting careers. Joshua became a unified heavyweight champion before losing his belts to Oleksandr Usyk. Meanwhile, Zhang’s career has had a resurgence at the age of 40, having grabbed the best wins of his career against Joyce. And with both fighters having the ability to end fights with their power, Hearn did not rule out that fight moving forward if a fight with Deontay Wilder didn’t come about. 

“Absolutely. AJ has always fancied that fight. He beat him in the amateurs, it was a good fight. Of course, [we’d do it in China]. Money talks, we can do it at Wembley [Stadium]. We want to make the Wilder fight. I think Zhang is an easier fight, it’s still dangerous, but why not?” Hearn stated

Nevertheless, Zhang’s intention is to face Tyson Fury next. The Chinese called out the ‘Gypsy King’ for a fight and since Fury holds the WBC belt, a world title shot would be appealing. Outside of that, Zhang is in line to face Usyk for his unified heavyweight titles once the mandatory is called. So a fight with AJ may not be at the top of Zhang’s priorities.