Zhilei Zhang has opened the time when he almost dies, how he can't see his family and why he left the security of the Chinese system to pursue his dreams, everything while preparing for his next confrontation with Agit Kabayel.
Mail Sport traveled to Paterson, New Jersey, to see Zhang at the camp, see him train, listen to his first -hand story. The Chinese heavyweight dropped his guard in a way he had never done before.
The gym, hidden in a rough side street, sits down a stretch of metal stairs, beyond a fan of roaring heaters and inside, the room is covered with boxing memories. It is an adequate scenario for a man who has had to fight for everything: his career, his health, even his right to be here.
Zhang is preparing for his next clash with Kabayel on Saturday and while we see him overcome his training sessions, it is clear that every moment of the camp has been carefully calculated for the German heavyweight.
Zhang's physical condition has been questioned for a long time, but today, silence any doubt. Your Sprint session is relentless: five rounds at 40 seconds, 20 seconds of rest, then five to 20 in, 20 discount, five to 15 in, 15 discount. Two minutes of rest. Then he does everything again.
His strength and conditioning coach, Scooter, observes closely, ensuring that Zhang's heart rate exceeds 90 percent during each explosion. But the most impressive is what happens in breaks: its breathing slowed down, its heart rate collapses to about 40 percent. This is not a fighter who fights against resistance problems. This is a fighter in total control of your body.
Zhilei Zhang has opened the time when he almost dies, how he can't see his family due to American visa problems and why he left the safety of the Chinese system to pursue dreams
Mail Sport traveled to Paterson, New Jersey, to see Zhang in the camp, see him train, listen to his first -hand history and none of the previous disappointed
Zhang was tested his steps in the pads by his coach Shaun George (in the photo above)
And yet, just a few years ago, that control was started from him.
While we sit on the edge of the ring, Zhang talks about Jerry Forrest's fight in 2021. He tells the story with the importance of a man who has already made peace with her. But the details are terrifying.
“In the locker room after the fight, I felt that I was dying,” he says even his voice. “I didn't know if my life would stop at that time. That was serious.
He does not remember how he exceeded the final rounds. After mastering the first part of the fight, something changed. 'The first three, four rounds were as planned. I was boxing wonderfully, 'he recalls.
'But in the fifth round, I felt that my body was cut. Something was not right. In the last rounds, I didn't know what happened. I lost my memory. I fainted.
Back in the locker room, his condition worsened. His heart was accelerating, his body was closing. His team asked for an ambulance, and in the hospital, the diagnosis was disconcerting: acute renal failure and dangerously high liver function.
“I really thought it was the end not only of my career but of my life,” he admits. 'Then the doctors told me it was acute, which means it was reversible. I stayed in the hospital for four days. After that, my body felt normal again. I told my team, in a Chinese phrase, “this is to put the tiger again in nature.”
That fight changed everything. Before, Zhang admits that he had been neglected with his nutrition. 'I ate what I wanted, I drank what I wanted. There was no plan, '' he says. 'After that fight, I hired a nutritionist. I started to follow a real diet. Now, I feel better than ever.
Zhang also underwent a cardio session, which focused on his ability to reduce his heart rate
Rapper and actor ll Cool J reached the end of the Zhang session to wish him the best in Saudi
Zhang and Ll Cool J use the same coach and S&C training in the altitude camera together
Zhang has faced adversity in the ring, but the only time he really considered moving away from boxing had nothing to do with the fight.
“When you talk about training hard, when you talk about combat, when you talk about losing a fight, those are not reasons to give up,” he says. “The only time I thought about giving myself away was when I was caught waiting for my American visa.”
In 2021, Zhang flew home to China to attend his mother's funeral, but then, when he tried to return to the United States, he learned that his visa had been suspended.
“I had just lost my mother, and now I was caught, unable to be with my family, unable to continue my career,” he says. “That was as close as I have come to quit smoking.”
For six months, he was caught in Limbo, unable to train in the United States, insecure if he would ever return. 'I was ready to tell my team, sell my car, get rid of my house. I can't come back, '' he says. “That was the lowest moment of my life.”
Then, just when he was preparing to move on, the visa arrived. “I was ready to put a label in my car on the concessionaire,” he laughs. Then I received the call. I told my team, recover my car, I will return.
Zhang's boxing trip could have been much simpler. After winning silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, it could have been left in China, where a stable race was waiting for him.
“When I started boxing, those names were at the bottom of my mind: Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield,” he says. 'In 2008, I won money. In 2012, I returned to the London Olympic Games. But after that, I felt that my fans career was finishing. It would have been a shame if he did not return to professional and see what was out there.
After winning the Olympic silver, Zhang could have stayed in China, but wanted to become a professional
Zhang has revealed that he felt he was dying after his draw with Jerry Forrest in 2021
The Chinese system offered financial stability and security. Its government support would have paid training, insurance, food, an easier path. But Zhang wanted more. I wanted to be professional.
“Life could have been easier,” he says. 'But I wanted to know how professional boxing really looked. I became professional without hesitation.
What he found was much less glamorous than he expected.
“When I came for the first time, just out of the boat, everything was new,” says Zhang. My first fight? I hit the boy in 17 seconds. I thought: “This is easy.”
Reality hit shortly after. “I fought on basketball courts,” he laughs. “The costume was a bathroom, someone entered to see a landfill, and we all had to go.”
Those early struggles only strengthened their resolution. “Everyone goes through those fights at the beginning,” he says. 'But I wanted more. I wanted to get to the next level.
Zhang no longer fights in makeshift places. He is leading important events and fighting on Riad's season cards. But the work has not stopped.
The gym where Zhang trains is a hidden jewel in a Paterson neighborhood. Upload a stretch of metal stairs and soaked in the smell of leather. It is a scenario of the old school without luxuries, perfect for a fighter who would have to assemble towards the top.
Its coach, Shaun George, has an innovative approach: wearing stripe lenses with a built -in camera while holding the pads, studying Zhang from the perspective of an opponent. “It allows us to see what they see,” explains George. 'Where are the openings? Where can we improve? We fix those things before the night of fighting.
Zhang not only impresses his coaches: he has caught the attention of some unexpected figures. Hip-Hop Legend Ll Cool J, who shares a strength and conditioning coach with Zhang, stops in the gym and sees it work.
“The way it goes down, the way it works is crazy,” says Ll. 'It is an incredible, anaerobic and aerobically specimen. We have trained together in the altitude chamber. When I was preparing for my last tour, I was training with them: bike, elliptical, running tape, Versa Climber. He is the real business.
Zhang has been counted before. He has been questioned, underestimated. But while training in Paterson, preparing for Kabayel, he is demonstrating why he belongs between the elite.
Your physical aptitude questioned? He is demonstrating that bad every day in the gym. Your past struggles? They only made it more acute.
“This is putting the tiger again in nature,” he says again, this time with a smile.