Zhilei Zhang can ‘wallop’ however will battle to get fights with Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk, says Tony Bellew

Tony Bellew believes it will be ‘sensible’ to see Anthony Joshua tackle Zhilei Zhang within the ring.

Nevertheless, the previous world champion doesn’t consider that the latter is a sexy prospect for elite heavyweight fighters regardless of his spectacular KO victory over Joe Joyce.

On Saturday, Zhang knocked out Joe Joyce within the third spherical of their rematch, with the Chinese language boxer additionally profitable their first bout.

He delivered a brutal blow at Wembley Area and the Brit collapsed on the canvas, with the struggle waved off as he tried to get again to his ft.

In consequence, Zhang retained his WBO ‘interim’ world title and is now a compulsory for present champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Nevertheless, when talking solely to talkSPORT, Bellew solid doubt on whether or not Zhang will get the shot on the large time an growing quantity suppose he is due.

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On Zhang, Bellew mentioned: “He is harmful is not he? Nobody goes to need to contact him with a barge pole… hear, the likes of Usyk will simply go, ‘What do I would like him for? I am not touching him, it would not do something for me.’

“Now, this will probably be slightly little bit of a Catch-22 place as a result of he must be an undefeated fighter. I believed he’d beat Filip Hrgovic, I actually do, I like Hrgovic he is fighter however I believed he misplaced to Zhang however he simply did not get it.

“Now, if Zhang was an undefeated fighter, it is a extra engaging opposition to the opposite heavyweights on the market as a result of they’d be like, ‘I need to put a dent in him and be the primary to beat him’.

“As a result of he is now bought a loss on his document, regardless that it isn’t a correct loss, fighters will go, ‘Properly hear if I beat him, everybody will say it is as a result of I am alleged to, Hrgovic has already crushed him’. So he isn’t a sexy choice.

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“I feel Tyson Fury would beat him fingers down, I feel Fury beats virtually everybody on the planet barring Usyk. I simply suppose Fury is so good however on the identical time, there’s nothing to win by going through Zhang. He is not a world champion, he isn’t undefeated and he is tremendous harmful.

“He can wallop with both hand. It is simply not somebody you tackle, I am speaking from a boxing enterprise perspective, I am not speaking as a boxing fan. As a boxing fan, an incredible struggle could be Zhang in opposition to Joshua, that might be sensible.”

When requested who would win, Bellew added: “I have never seen Zhang take one again off the likes of Joshua. You have to have a look at the heavyweight division, the most important puncher within the heavyweight division is Deontay Wilder.

“I’ve bought no drawback in saying that, he is the most important puncher of his period. However Joshua is correct on his coattails, proper behind him because the second greatest puncher within the heavyweight division. I simply suppose Joshua wallops Zhang, I imply it is a shootout as soon as once more.

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“I am undecided Zhang is as athletic and as cell as Joshua. Joshua remains to be evolving, he is turning into a greater fighter every time. Individuals are going, ‘This type of Joshua…’, he is below the brand new coach, he is studying new issues, he is attempting out new stuff.

“However on the identical time, make no mistake, he is nonetheless bought the outdated Joshua, it is simply that nobody has put it on him but and made him have a struggle. Zhang would, Wilder goes to do it and that is after I suppose you may see and everybody will see Joshua at his finest.

“When somebody goes, ‘Proper, I’ll stick it on you now and provides it to you’, that is after I suppose you may see him chew down on his gumshield and fireplace again and if he did, I might tip him, I might tip Joshua to knock Zhang out.”