Zhang Madden for the knockout on the undefeated Kabyle

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Zhilei Zhang gave Agit Kabayel a surprise gift ahead of their WBC Interim Heavyweight title fight in Riyadh next month on February 22.

The two-time Olympian went to Kabyle (25-0, 17 KOs) and handed him an envelope, which he opened up portraying the image of the Chinese heavyweight. The gift of Zilei is part of the Chinese New Year.

Hunter’s mentality

Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) and the undefeated Kabyle fight on the undercard of the Riyad Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitri Bivol 2 rematch. It’s an important fight for both heavyweights, obviously, but for the 41-year-old Zhang, it might mean a little more because of his age. Time is running out to position himself to win the World Cup in one of the two championships.

Last year, Zhang lost his WBO interim belt to Joseph Parker in a controversial 12-round majority decision on March 8 in Riyadh. After dropping Parker in the third round, the 291-pound Shiley looked to be heading for an early knockout, but later ran out of gas.

Parker then took control of the second half of the fight, using his advantage to win an ugly decision. Zhang also knocked Parker down in the eighth round, and seemed to have done enough to secure the win. The judges scored it 114-112, 115-111 and 114-114 in favor of Parker.

“I’m not a big fan of being a snake. I want to be an eagle. When he sees that he is an eagle hunter, he will catch him in the air and just drop him,” Zhang said during the press conference on how he planned to fight Kabayel.

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