Zhilei Zhang explains why he's lost interest in Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk

Zhilei Zhang has weighed in on the forthcoming Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight.

'The Gypsy King' and 'The Cat' are slated to face off on February 17th in Saudi Arabia. Famously, the bout was originally scheduled for December 23rd. However, that date is now occupied by Anthony Joshua vs. Ottl Wallin and Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker.

The British boxer was forced off of the original date next month due to the outcome of his fight with Francis Ngannou in October. 'The Predator' vastly overperformed in his boxing debut that night, nearly scoring an upset win. Ultimately, Fury was able to outbox the MMA fighter to score a split-decision victory.

However, it's because of that fight with Ngannou that Zhilei Zhang isn't as interested in the bout. For his part, 'Bang Bang' is coming off a knockout win over Joe Joyce in September. Following the win, he hoped to book a fight against either Fury or Usyk.

While he first believed that the Ukranian would struggle against Fury, he's no longer sure. Speaking to All Out Fighting, Zhang stated:

“With that performance last [month] Fury will definitely have problems with Usyk let alone myself. We need to see what happens with Tyson Fury because he said he trained hard and the camp went well, but the performance says otherwise. I’ve started to lose my interest the unification as well based on the Fury performance, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, however, the money guys behind Tyson Fury probably think otherwise.”

See his comments in the video below (3:30)

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Zhilei Zhang hopes to be next for Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk winner

While Zhilei Zhang isn't sure who will win Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, he knows who he wants to be triumphant.

Following his knockout win over Joe Joyce in September, 'Bang Bang' called out 'The Gypsy King'. At the time, Fury hadn't fought Ngannou and hadn't even scheduled his December bout with Usyk.

Now, a few months later, the heavyweight landscape looks incredibly different. Fury is still champion, but Francis Ngannou is now a top-ten heavyweight. Meanwhile, names such as Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder have booked their returns as well.

That being said, Zhilei Zhang still just wants Tyson Fury for his next fight. Speaking to Gambling.com, the boxer recently stated:

"When I called him out after knocking Joe Joyce out, he was in a conversation with Oleksandr Usyk to fight for two years but as soon as I called him out the fight got made. That to me means Fury and his team want to avoid me."