Zhilei Zhang has opened up on the time he almost died, how he can’t see his family, and why he left the security of the Chinese system to pursue his dreams — all as he prepares for his upcoming showdown with Agit Kabayel.
Mail Sport travelled to Paterson, New Jersey, to see Zhang in camp, to watch him train, to hear his story firsthand. The Chinese heavyweight dropped his guard in a way he’s never done before.
The gym, tucked away on a rough side street, sits up a flight of metal stairs, past a roaring heater fan, and inside, the room is draped in boxing memorabilia. It’s a fitting setting for a man who has had to fight for everything — his career, his health, even his right to be here.
Zhang is preparing for his upcoming clash with Kabayel on Saturday and as we watch him push through his training sessions, it’s clear that every moment of camp has been carefully calculated for the German heavyweight.
Zhang’s fitness has long been questioned, but today, he silences any doubt. His sprint session is relentless: five rounds at 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off, then five at 20 on, 20 off, five at 15 on, 15 off. Two minutes of rest. Then he does it all over again.
His strength and conditioning coach, Scooter, watches closely, ensuring Zhang’s heart rate spikes past 90 percent during each burst. But what’s more impressive is what happens in the breaks — his breathing slows, his heart rate plummets to around 40 percent. This isn’t a fighter battling stamina issues. This is a fighter in complete control of his body.
Zhilei Zhang has opened up on the time he almost died, how he can’t see his family due to American visa problems, and why he left the security of the Chinese system to pursue dreams
Mail Sport travelled to Paterson, New Jersey, to see Zhang in camp, to watch him train, to hear his story firsthand and none of the above disappointed
Zhang was put through his paces on the pads by his trainer Shaun George (pictured above)
And yet, just a few years ago, that control was ripped away from him.
As we sit down at the edge of the ring, Zhang speaks about the Jerry Forrest fight in 2021. He tells the story with the matter-of-factness of a man who has already made peace with it. But the details are terrifying.
‘In the locker room after the fight, I felt like I was dying,’ he says, his voice even. ‘I didn’t know if my life would stop at that moment. That’s how serious it was.’
He doesn’t remember how he made it through the final rounds. After dominating the early part of the fight, something shifted. ‘The first three, four rounds went as planned. I was boxing beautifully,’ he recalls.
‘But in the fifth round, I felt like my body was cut off. Something wasn’t right. In the last couple rounds, I didn’t know what happened. I lost my memory. I blacked out.’
Back in the dressing room, his condition worsened. His heart was racing, his body was shutting down. His team called for an ambulance, and at the hospital, the diagnosis was unnerving—acute kidney failure and dangerously high liver function levels.
‘I really thought it was the end of not just my career but my life,’ he admits. ‘Then the doctors told me it was acute, which means it was reversible. I stayed in the hospital for four days. After that, my body felt normal again. I told my team, in a Chinese phrase, “This is putting the tiger back in the wild.”‘
That fight changed everything. Before, Zhang admits, he had been careless with his nutrition. ‘I ate what I wanted, I drank what I wanted. There was no plan,’ he says. ‘After that fight, I hired a nutritionist. I started following a real diet. Now, I feel better than ever.’
Zhang also underwent a cardio session – which focused on his ability to lower his heart rate
Rapper and actor LL Cool J arrived at the end of Zhang’s session to wish him well in Saudi
Zhang and LL Cool J use the same S&C trainer and workout in the altitude chamber together
Zhang has faced adversity in the ring, but the only time he truly considered walking away from boxing had nothing to do with fighting.
‘When you’re talking about training hard, when you talk about sparring, when you talk about losing a fight—those are not reasons to give up,’ he says. ‘The only time I ever thought about giving up was when I was stuck in China waiting for my US visa.’
In 2021, Zhang flew home to China to attend his mother’s funeral, but afterwards when he tried to return to the US, he learned that his visa had been put on hold.
‘I had just lost my mother, and now I was stuck, unable to be with my family, unable to continue my career,’ he says. ‘That was the closest I ever came to quitting.’
For six months, he was trapped in limbo, unable to train in America, unsure if he would ever return. ‘I was ready to tell my team, sell my car, get rid of my house. I can’t come back,’ he says. ‘That was the lowest moment of my life.’
Then, just as he was preparing to move on, the visa came through. ‘I was ready to put a tag on my car at the dealer,’ he laughs. ‘Then I got the call. I told my team, get my car back— I’m coming back.’
Zhang’s boxing journey could have been much simpler. After winning silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he could have stayed in China, where a stable career was waiting for him.
‘When I started boxing, those names were in the back of my mind—Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield,’ he says. ‘In 2008, I won silver. In 2012, I was back in the Olympics in London. But after that, I felt like my amateur career was ending. It would’ve been a shame if I didn’t turn pro and see what was out there.’
After winning Olympic silver Zhang could have stayed in China, but he wanted to turn pro
Zhang has revealed that he felt like he was dying following his draw with Jerry Forrest in 2021
The Chinese system offered financial stability and security. Their government backing would have paid for training, insurance, food— an easier path. But Zhang wanted more. He wanted to become professional.
‘Life could have been easier,’ he says. ‘But I wanted to know what professional boxing really looked like. I turned pro without hesitation.’
What he found was far less glamorous than he was expecting.
‘When I first came here, fresh off the boat, everything was new,’ Zhang recalls. ‘My first fight? I knocked the guy out in 17 seconds. I thought, “This is easy.”‘
Reality hit soon after. ‘I fought on basketball courts,’ he laughs. ‘The locker room was a bathroom—someone came in to take a dump, and we all had to leave.’
Those early struggles only strengthened his resolve. ‘Everybody goes through those fights at the start,’ he says. ‘But I wanted more. I wanted to reach the next level.’
Zhang is no longer fighting in makeshift venues. He’s headlining major events and fighting on Riyadh Season cards. But the work hasn’t stopped.
The gym where Zhang trains is a hidden gem in a rough Paterson neighborhood. Up a flight of metal stairs and drenched in the smell of leather. It’s a no-frills, old-school setting, perfect for a fighter who had to claw his way to the top.
His coach, Shaun George, has an innovative approach — he wears Ray-Ban glasses with a built-in camera while holding the pads, studying Zhang from the perspective of an opponent. ‘It lets us see what they see,’ George explains. ‘Where are the openings? Where can we improve? We fix those things before fight night.’
Zhang isn’t just impressing his trainers—he’s caught the eye of some unexpected figures. Hip-hop legend LL Cool J, who shares a strength and conditioning trainer with Zhang, stops by the gym and watches him work.
‘The way he gets down, the way he works, it’s crazy,’ LL says. ‘He’s an incredible specimen, anaerobically and aerobically. We’ve trained together in the altitude chamber. When I was getting ready for my last tour, I was training with them — bike, elliptical, treadmill, Versa climber. He’s the real deal.’
Zhang has been counted out before. He’s been questioned, underestimated. But as he trains in Paterson, preparing for Kabayel, he’s proving why he belongs among the elite.
His fitness questioned? He’s proving that wrong every day in the gym. His past struggles? They only made him sharper.
‘This is putting the tiger back in the wild,’ he says again, this time with a smile.