WBO heavyweight transitional boxing champion Zhang Zhilei: Ten years to sharpen a sword, I should be unsheathed

Ten years to sharpen a sword, it's time for me to unsheath

Chinese heavyweight fighter Zhang Zhilei defeated his opponent to win the WBO (World Boxing Organization) heavyweight transition belt, the first belt that Chinese won in a world professional heavyweight boxing competition. Zhang Zhilei's victory can be said to have created history and is of great significance, and domestic netizens have set off a wave of celebration. The name Zhang Zhilei is no longer only familiar to boxing fans, but has entered the public eye. Zhang Zhilei, born in 1983, is about to celebrate his 40th birthday, which is not too young among professional boxers, but Zhang Zhilei is still scrappy and moving towards the goal of a heavyweight boxing title. On April 4, a reporter from the Yangtze Evening News Ziniu News interviewed Zhang Zhilei, who won a silver medal in boxing at the Beijing Olympics in 24 and turned professional in 2008. Zhang Zhilei told reporters that he "sharpened a sword in ten years" in order to stand at the top of the boxing world, and he was eager to fight the official WBO boxing champion Usyk next, and was full of expectations for the match.

Yangtze Evening News/Purple Cow News trainee reporter Chen Ran

Becoming a "transitional boxing champion" in London fulfilled a small career dream

After a victory over Joyce in London, Zhang Zhilei replaced his opponent as the WBO heavyweight transitional world champion, and also won the right to forcibly challenge the official WBO champion Usyk. According to the rules, the transitional world champion refers to the official boxing champion of the boxing organization due to some special circumstances, can not accept the challenge of the challenger designated by the organization in a short period of time, then the organization can designate the top two fighters of the association to compete in a championship match, and the winner becomes the "transitional boxing champion" of the organization.

On the morning of the 24th, Zhang Zhilei, who was resting in a hotel in Thailand, was interviewed by a reporter from the Yangtze Evening News Purple Cow News, and he was waiting for a visa to go to the United States for training. Looking back on the recent competition, Zhang Zhilei was less excited about winning the competition and seemed very calm, "When I won the victory, I didn't have any thoughts in my heart, and I felt that this was an inevitable result. The hard work I put in and the hard work of the coaching team, the technical team and the agent are very happy to get this result. ”

Zhang Zhilei told reporters that the 37-year-old British star Joyce he faced at the time was a very strong opponent, "He is a local fighter, and in his heart he may feel that it is no problem to win this game, and he also has a winning mentality." Many people were also optimistic about Joyce, who was younger than Zhang Zhilei before the game, and Joyce's WBO ranking was the first, and the world comprehensive ranking was fourth, and Zhang Zhilei was probably in the twentieth place in the world at that time.

"I never care about the ranking, as long as your strength is reached, it doesn't matter if you rank in the top 100. I didn't deliberately adjust my mentality before the game, I finished everything I needed to do, and I was very confident. Towards the competition, I was physically at my best, mentally and very relaxed, waiting to enjoy the game. Zhang Zhilei smiled and said to reporters, "The most important thing is that you are strong, and then you are fearless in the face of any opponent." Zhang Zhilei proved his strength with proof of his strength. After the official match with Joyce began, Zhang Zhilei performed well in the first two rounds, hitting Joyce several times, knocking it a little shaky. Zhang Zhilei recalled: "At that time, he basically fell that feeling, but my coach usually trained and told me that when you shake or faint the opponent, don't rush to attack, you must find the opportunity and then attack a second time, otherwise you will lose your composure and calmness if you rush to disrupt the punch." ”

Ten years to become the Olympic runner-up, training and competition to hone courage and will

"My ultimate goal is the King of Fighters belt. From turning professional boxer in 2014 to now, I've been working towards this goal for almost a decade, and I'm almost done. As the saying goes, 'ten years to sharpen a sword', I am about to 'unsheath'. Zhang Zhilei told the Purple Cow News reporter that his current achievements come from the solid foundation he laid earlier in his amateur period. He took his first decade of boxing from 1998 to his 2008 Olympic runner-up finish and continues to inspire himself to accomplish the wonders of the next decade.

Zhang Zhilei's hometown is Shenqiu, Zhoukou, Henan, and when he was in junior high school, he was recruited into the rowing team by the county sports school. Originally, Zhang Zhilei may continue to train in rowing, but when he is 12 years old and nearly 1.9 meters tall, he is no longer suitable for rowing, a sport with height restrictions. Because of his good health, he was recommended to learn boxing or sanda, "My father and I went to the Henan Provincial Team Building at that time to find a boxing coach, but I didn't expect the coach to fall in love with me. ”

He began boring training day after day. Stand in front of the full-length mirror for hours, constantly correcting the boxing posture. Sometimes I stand numb on both legs, and I stand for months before I complete the initial training exercises, followed by foot movements and punches. "The first time I put on boxing gloves and officially fought a match, the opponent was the champion of Henan Province. After going on stage, my head was blindfolded, so I had to bite the bullet, fight for two minutes, and then lie tired in the ring, but I did not show fear during the whole process, and the coach later told me that this time it was to test my guts and think my psychological quality was not bad. ”

In 2001, Zhang Zhilei won the third place in boxing over 91 kg at the 2005th National Games, and in 2008, he was the champion of the 2012th National Games. In 2013, he competed in the Beijing Olympics and won the silver medal in the men's boxing super heavyweight category, "which is the pinnacle of my national athlete career." I wanted to win the London <> Olympics but lost. After competing in the <> National Games, I decided to retire. ”

Turning pro was difficult, and his past experience taught him never to give up

In 2014, Zhang Zhilei chose to become a professional boxer abroad, relying on boxing to support himself and his team, while hitting a higher boxing hall. Talking about the reason, Zhang Zhilei said: "I have participated in two Olympic Games, my eyes have broadened, and when I first practiced boxing, I grew up watching Tyson, Lewis, these boxing champions, so I thought that if I don't feel professional boxing in this life, it will be the biggest regret for my life." ”

However, life in the United States was not as smooth as expected, "When I first arrived, I felt like an Olympic silver medalist, but in fact, everyone didn't care much about these results, just to see who had the tougher fist in the arena. ”

In the new decade, Zhang Zhilei has not had an easy life, from the national team does not worry about eating, dressing and training to becoming a professional boxer, and the transformation of supporting a team of people by himself has made Zhang Zhilei also have a long period of discomfort. "Professional fighters get money from every fight, and when I first started, the appearance fee was very low, and I had to fight as much as I could. When I was hardest, I couldn't pay the car loan or rent. ”

And the appearance fee of the match is not a lot at once, according to the level of the match - determined by the opponent, the number of rounds, the influence of the match. Because he spends a lot, he usually saves money, "Once I was injured in a competition, and the stitches were removed from the eyebrow bone, so in order to save money, I bought small scissors and went home to remove the stitches myself. ”

The difficulties of the past have become ordinary in Zhang Zhilei's eyes, and he tells reporters about his love of boxing, but rarely talks about the hardships he has suffered in boxing. But in fact, he has been left with a lot of pain over the years. He has had almost 20 stitches in his eyebrow arch, several surgeries on his elbow, and a knee injury.

The past often comes to mind, but now Zhang Zhilei talks about these lightly, "Some of the difficult time periods are forgotten, some remember deeply, and I regard them as valuable life experiences that inspire me to look forward." ”

Yangtze Evening News