Frank Warren Would Like To See Zhilei Zhang Fight Oleksandr Usyk Next

Frank Warren is hopeful Zhilei Zhang will get to fight Oleksandr Usyk next time out.

Zhang defended his interim title WBO heavyweight title over the weekend as he KO’d Joe Joyce in the third round, in their rematch. It was another statement-making performance and the expectation is he will get a title fight next time out.

Although Tyson Fury is set to face Francis Ngannou next month, and Oleksandr Usyk is rumored to take on Filip Hrgovic, Frank Warren wants to see Zhang get the fight against Usyk.

“I fancy him against Usyk,” Warren said of Zhang in an interview with iFL TV (h/t BoxingScene). “I think he’s a big, big man. I fancy him. Look, Usyk is a very, very good fighter. But I fancied Daniel Dubois would give him a tough fight and he exposed him. He showed what we all know in the business because we know something about the business. We’re very good at guiding fighters, and I know that he struggles with shots to the body and that was shown. I’ve seen that in the past. He certainly won’t take the punch of this guy.”

On paper, a fight against Oleksandr Usyk vs. Zhilei Zhang makes sense and would be a big fight. However, Frank Warren says he expects the Usyk fight to not happen until the summer so wouldn’t be surprised if Zhang takes another fight in the meantime.

Zhilei Zhang is 26-1-1 as a pro and is now on a two-fight win streak. His lone loss came by decision to Filip Hrgovic in August of 2022.

Would you like to see Zhilei Zhang vs. Oleksandr Usyk?