On March 10, 2014, in New York City, Zhilei Zhang announced that he would be turning pro. Zhang signed a promotional agreement with Dynasty Boxing, which is a promotional firm that specializes in the Chinese market.[citation needed]
Zhang knocked out Curtis Tate in the first 17 seconds of round one in his pro debut in Fallon, Nevada, on August 8, 2014.[citation needed]
Zhang compiled a perfect record of 20–0 before fighting Andriy Rudenko in Monaco on 30 November 2019. He dominated the Ukrainian veteran and secured a convincing unanimous decision win, winning on all three scorecards, 99–91, 98–92 and 97–93.[5]
He returned to the ring on 27 February 2021, to fight journeyman Jerry Forrest on the undercard of the super-middleweight title fight between Canelo Álvarez and Avni Yıldırım. Although Zhang started strongly, scoring three knockdowns in the opening three rounds of the bout, Forrest was able to battle his way back to earn a majority draw. The final scorecards read 95–93 Forrest, 93–93, and 93–93, with the irregular scores owing to a point deduction against Zhang for excessive holding.[7] It was revealed that after the fight, Zhang was hospitalised and later diagnosed with "anemia, high enzyme levels, and low-level renal failure that may have been caused by severe dehydration".[8][9]
On 27 November 2021, Zhang faced Craig Lewis on the undercard of Teófimo López vs. George Kambosos Jr. Zhang started the fight off slowly, but dropped Lewis twice in round two, leading Lewis' corner to throw in the towel, giving Zhang a TKO win.[10]
Zhang was scheduled to fight Filip Hrgović in an IBF title eliminator on 7 May 2022.[11] However, Hrgović pulled out of the fight on 2 May, stating that he had not been able to focus during his training camp due to the death of his father.[12] Scott Alexander was chosen as the replacement fight on the Canelo Álvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol undercard, with the fight being dropped from the co-main to the undercard.[13] Zhang won the bout via first-round knockout.[14] His fight against Hrgović was rescheduled for 20 August 2022, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II.[15] On that night, Zhang knocked down Hrgović in the first round with a right hand shot. After a close-fought battle over twelve rounds, the judges awarded the fight to Hrgović with scores of 115–112 twice and 114–113, in what was described as a "generous" decision by broadcaster Sky Sports after a "bizarre" performance by Hrgović.[16][17]
WBO interim heavyweight champion
Zhang vs. Joyce
On 2 February 2023, it was officially announced that Zhang would be returning to the ring at the Copper Box Arena in London, England on 15 April, against undefeated WBOinterim champion Joe Joyce.[18]
On 15 April 2023, Zhang defeated Joe Joyce by sixth-round technical knockout and secured the WBO interim heavyweight title.[19]
Zhang vs. Joyce II
On 23 September 2023, Zhang beat Joyce by third-round knockout in a rematch.[20]
Zhang vs. Parker
On January 15, 2024, it was announced that Zhang would be facing former WBO champion Joseph Parker, with the fight scheduled to occur on March 8, 2024 as the co-main event of the Knockout Chaos event, at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena.[21]
