I’m excited for this fight because the winner will likely fight for the vacant WBC Featherweight title as Gary Russell Jr seems intent on moving up a division.
King Tug as hes commonly known was a very good amateur who has progressed quickly in the pro’s. He’s powerful, got good boxing skills and a solid defence though he isn’t what I would describe as slick. He also has a lot more experience at the highest level than Breedy who is taking his first real test here.
Cobia Breedy is a solid fighter who is taking this fight on relatively short notice. He hasn’t got a huge amount of power and hes quite small for the weight which will put him at a big disadvantage vs King Tug. He’s struggled with domestic opponents and this is a massive step up in competition for him.
Without getting to deep into this breakdown i’m just going to go with King Tug by stoppage because of the gulf in experience.
These are the 8 opponents that Zhang could potentially fight in November. I’ve tried to stick to ones that wouldn’t be a huge threat and also wouldn’t find it hard to get to the fight in America.
The first opponent is Joey Dawejko who is a journeyman from America who has fought a variety of top names. He’s not very tall and isn’t very fast so Zhang would be able to pick him off over 10 rounds and pick up a decision win. Dawejko would be one of the better opponents because your guaranteed to get some rounds out of him but its also quite unlikely he upsets the apple cart.
Joey Dawejko
The next opponent I thought of is Devin Vargas who plays much the same role as Joey Dawejko. He’s actually coming off a decent win right now which justifies fighting him a bit more. He normally loses by KO but those KO losses have been to some significant fighters such as Andy Ruiz Jr. I think Vargas will be likely be the opponent because he’ll try but will probably get knocked out and make Zhang look good. He was supposed to fight Oscar Rivas earlier this year but I can’t imagine the contract is still in place after all these months.
Devin Vargas
The third opponent that could potentially fight Zhang is Carlos Negron who is 21-3. Negron has a lot of power but also doesn’t have a great chin which is often the case for power punchers. He was supposed to be fighting on a PBC show recently so he may stay loyal to them and fight some of their heavyweights. I think he would make a solid test and really show Matchroom what they have with Zhang.
Carlos Negron
The next opponent is Brian Howard who beat Carlos Negron in a big upset last year. He’s fought all the way down at Light Heavyweight and isn’t a big heavyweight so their would be limited risk to Zhang but he would still be fighting someone with a decent record who would be coming to win.
Brian Howard
The 5th opponent that I thought of is Chazz Witherspoon. He fought Usyk when Usyk was making his heavyweight debut last year and performed better than expected so Matchroom may give him another shot as a thank you for taking a short notice fight last time out.
Chazz Witherspoon
The sixth opponent I thought of is Bogdan Dinu who is a heavyweight from Romania. Dinu has fought on a matchroom card before and recently fought Kubrat Pulev who is going to fight Anthony Joshua soon. While hes only a name because of who he’s lost to that really fits the bill for this fight as Matchroom need an opponent who will lose after trying for a few rounds.
Bogdan Dinu
The seventh opponent I think could potentially fight Zhang is Jerry Forrest. He recently fought Carlos Takam and while he lost he showed he can give competitive rounds to top level guys and that makes him a perfect fit for this fight. He did fail a drug test though I think their will be a hearing soon to determine whether it was accidental or not.
Jerry Forrest
The final opponent I could think of for Zhang is Iago Kiladze. He’s fought top prospects for the last 3 years and while hes come up short in all of them he always go’s for it and it would guarantee an entertaining fight. He recently lost to Efe Ajagba but he did knock him down so showed he can still be competitive with prospects.
Iago Kiladze
These are a few opponents that I think would test Zhang slightly and give him some rounds but would be unlikely to beat him. I’m sure Matchroom will pick someone that no one but them has heard of though.
Zhang Zhilei an undefeated heavyweight from China has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom and will be making his debut for them sometime in November. He has previously fought on one of their cards in Monaco and was looking to be very active in 2020 if the Corona Virus hadn’t shut the sport down.
He currently holds a 21-0 record with 16 knockouts with the majority of those bouts taking place in America. He won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics and has had a steller amateur career where he also went on to compete in the 2012 Olympics before turning pro in 2014. He is now 37 years old which will mean he needs to get the big fights soon as even for a heavyweight he is getting old. He is a tall southpaw which makes him almost unique in this heavyweight division and could cause problems for a lot of fighters who aren’t used to fighting southpaws.
It’s not been announced who he will be fighting in November but by what they have said it sounds like it will be a tune up bout before he goes on to fight some of the bigger names in the division. I don’t think Matchroom will mess around with him as he is 37 now and certainly doesn’t need any more developmental fights just significant ones at this point.
I’m going to write an article with a few of my guesses as to who he will be fighting in November soon so be sure to read that!
This is a really good fight between two top Super Welterweights with the winner getting a title shot next. Erickson Lubin is coming off a good win versus Nathaniel Gallimore where he really showed hes bounced back from his loss to Jermell Charlo. Terrell Gausha is coming off a draw with Austin Trout over a year ago though I did think he won that fight.
Erickson Lubin is a southpaw who has a good southpaw jab and solid power. He throws a lot to the body especially with straight shots such as a 1-2 to the body and a double jab then a left hand to the body. He can be quite patient and doesn’t waste much energy on useless punches. He puts combinations together well and when he gets his opponents hurt he really goes for the finish. Hes good at giving himself room to get his punches off and doesn’t load up on his punches while varying the power.
His defence is decent though he is certainly hittable. He uses a high guard and uses his elbow well to hold his opponents off on the inside. He also uses a Philly shell type of defence a lot. He has been knocked out before but that was by a decent puncher in Jermell Charlo when Lubin was only 21. I wouldn’t say he has a bad chin and his stamina seems to be decent though I noticed he took a bit of time off late in the Gallimore fight.
Terrell Gausha has a decent jab and one-two though I don’t think he has as much power as Lubin. He has a good amateur background and competed in the 2012 Olympics for the USA. After he finishes punching he’ll sometimes stay in front of his opponents which leaves to him getting hit when he doesn’t need too. He has a decent defence though like Lubin is certainly hittable and when he throws his punches he leaves his chin open for a second or two afterwards. He has been dropped before but has never been stopped so has a decent chin. He throws wide looping hooks and has semi-decent footwork.
Terrell Gausha
I think Erickson Lubin will win this fight by decision because he has the better defence and more power. He’s also younger and starting to come into his prime while Gausha is 33 and hasn’t fought for over a year. I think Lubin should be able to catch him often and potentially knock him down a few times which should secure him the win.
Istvan Szili isn’t a name many people will be familiar with as he hasn’t fought in many high profile bouts. He has the potential to become well known however as he could soon be facing Billy Joe Saunders.
Istvan Szili recently traveled to Australia and pulled off a big upset win over Jayde Mitchell when no one expected him to win at all or even make it to the final bell. He had a few bad results at middleweight but since moving up to Super Middleweight hes looked much improved and is 5-0 at the weight. He has an exciting style where either him or his opponent is going to get stopped especially when he fights top fighters.
On paper he looks to be a perfect “tune up” bout for Saunders before he faces Callum Smith in the new year. He’s still dangerous and will provide a test but as long as Saunders is at his best he should win and move on to bigger fights. Szili is ranked 15 in the WBO at Super Middleweight so Saunders is able to pick him as a voluntary defence and after picking up a solid upset win over Jayde Mitchell I think he deserves the opportunity.
Billy Joe Saunders
Szili also lives in Switzerland so it wouldn’t be huge trouble for him to get a passport and Visa’s to travel to the UK. He was a good amateur who had over 200 fights winning over 150 of them and competing at many international tournaments.
If Saunders is to take what is perceived by most people to be a tune up fight then I think Istvan Szili is the perfect opponent and also deserves the opportunity after dedicating so long to the sport as well as getting a big upset win on the road recently.
This is a decent step up in competition in which I think Ennis will look very good. Jaron Ennis is seen as one of the best prospects in the sport while Abreu is a gatekeeper for up and coming Welterweights.
Jaron Ennis has very fast hands and good footwork. He puts combinations together well and seems to have some decent power. His stamina and chin are relatively untested but he hasn’t shown any real defensive weaknesses yet. He has very good technical boxing skills and seems very dedicated to the sport. There isn’t really anything critical to say about him apart from that he hasn’t faced very good competition yet in his 25 fights.
Juan Carlos Abreu is tough and has power though lacks the fundamentals of Jaron Ennis. I also think he is on the decline a bit and has been dropped by lesser punchers such as Jamal James. He has also dropped people such as Jamal James so if Ennis is a bit chinny he could be in trouble.
Juan Carlos Abreu
I think Jaron Ennis will win by KO because he has the superior boxing skills and speed. He is also on the rise while Abreu is declining. Abreu could potentially stop Ennis because hes untested but I really don’t see it happening and I actually lean towards Ennis being the first person to stop him.
This should be a decent test for Efe Ajagba though I personally think hes already beat better opponents than Rice. Jonathan Rice has become a bit of a journeymen for the top prospects at heavyweight and unfortunately has lost to all the ones hes faced.
Efe Ajagba is a tall heavyweight that has a massive reach. He uses this reach well and breaks down his opponents with straight punch after straight punch. He seems to have good power and is decent technically. His defense isn’t on par with his offense and he has been dropped before though he didn’t seem seriously hurt.
Jonathan Rice has a pawing jab which is almost always going in and out. He seems to normally box on the front foot though i’m not sure that will be the case versus the hard hitting Ajagba. He has a decent right hand which he really puts his weight behind sometimes leaving him a bit off balance. I wouldn’t say his defense is that good though its serviceable and he has a decent chin. He seems to fight in bursts and is content to wait rather than really press the action to make sure he wins the round.
Jonathan Rice
I think Efe Ajagba will likely be able to get the stoppage because I see Rice taking his straights shots clean throughout the early rounds before wilting by round 7 or 8. I doubt Rice will be fully fit as this is a short notice fight and stamina will likely play a big part in a stoppage for Ajagba.
Demirezen will have his second come back fight after losing a points decision to fellow 2016 Olympian Efe Ajagba last year. He’ll be facing Journeyman Kamil Sokolowski who is a lot better than his record suggests and often pulls off the upset on undefeated prospects.
Kamil Sokolowski
This is a quick turn around for Sokolowski who was stopped last month in the 10th round against Zhan Kossobutskiy after a grueling 10 rounds. Hes always ready to fight and will face anyone. This should be a decent little test for Demirezen though I think he’ll win comfortably. If he can win by stoppage that would be a small statement and I would personally be impressed as Sokolowski is a tough man to stop.
This should be a relatively competitive fight but I think Egidijus Kavaliauskas technical skills and power should see him to a decision victory. I hope Zewski wins because I want too see a new contender and while hes capable of pulling it off I think hes not used to this level of competition and that will be the big difference.
Mikael Zewski
I will say this is good match making by Top Rank and certainly a hard fight for Kavaliauskas coming off a loss.
Boxing Fulcrum 