Zhilei Zhang calls himself an ‘executor’ ahead of Agit Kabayel fight

Zhilei Zhang says he’s ready to prove his mettle when he comes up against Agit Kabayel on February 22.

The Chinese heavyweight is expected to return to the ring against Germany’s Kabayel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, eight months after recording an emphatic victory over Deontay Wilder at the same venue.

Despite being the underdog in the match-up, Zhang says he’s ready to cause an upset.

“The preparation is so far so good. After the press conference, they (Agit Kabayel’s team) are going back to camp and we’re going to train like hell. So, with a month to go, we’re gonna do everything we can to perform the best come February 22,” Zhang told Fight Hub TV.

“I don’t really think too much because the odds are just the odds and it’s just the number of what people think about things. On February 22, I’ll talk with my fists.”

Zhang, 27-2-1 (22 KOs), responded well to a majority decision loss to Joseph Parker last March, stopping knockout artist Wilder in five rounds three months later. The 41-year-old is now looking forward to building on his biggest career win by upsetting Kabayel, 25-0 (17 KOs), on February 22.

But Kabayel is not going to be an easy task for Zhang. The German has had just three fights in two years, including a seventh-round KO of Frank Sanchez in July last year, and Zhang believes his fight with Kabayel will be quite different from the Wilder win.

“The fighters are different. You’re fighting different guys, and the strategy is different. My trainer right there, Shaun George, is the brain of the training camp and he’ll tell you a whole package of what’s going to be different. And my conditioning trainer, Scooter, they’re working together. So, I’m an executor. Whatever they come up with, I’ll execute.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].