Zhilei Zhang Steamrolls Scott Alexander in the First!
In his first prizefight of 2022, Chinese heavyweight Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang (24-0-1, 189KO’s) emerged victorious. Despite the win, by way of first round stoppage, the experience was rather bitter-sweet for Zhang. This is because Big Bang beat late replacement Scott Alexander (16-4-2, 8 KO’s) instead of his original opponent, Filip Hrgovic, who pulled out due to family issues.
Had Zhang, ranked #9 (WBO) and #13 (IBF), fought Hrgovic, their bout would have stood as an IBF title eliminator. The victor out of the Hrgovic-Zhang match would then be the designated mandatory challenger for the winner of unified Oleksandr Usyk versus Anthony Joshua prizefight. Instead, Zhang bested Alexander in what was tantamount to a stay-busy fight. Yet, now that Zhang won, he and Hrgovic are free to reschedule their title eliminator.
There was really not too much to see here. After a brief feel-out period in the first, Zhang socked Alexander in the mouth with a left that flattened him on his back. As the count was administered, the failed fighter dizzily looked around in discombobulated fashion. Unable to rise, it was a no-brainer and the bout was called off. While this was clearly not the match that Zhang wanted, it still was the perfect win on a big stage going into his soon to be rescheduled match with Filip Hrgovic.
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By: Bakari Simpson
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