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author | southern window reporter wu yangyu

editor | he chengbo

zhang zhilei's last trip back to china was on june 4, after he won his match in the "5vs5" boxing team competition in saudi arabia. the wheat harvest season in his hometown of zhoukou has begun since early june. fans gathered at the airport, waiting for his return. a late "zhoukou wheat harvester".

yes, that's right. zhang zhilei, who represents china's highest level in heavyweight boxing, is a henan native who once again missed the wheat harvest in his hometown in this scorching june; a man who had never touched water in the past and who searched on his mobile phone for "how much water to add to cooking" when he first settled in a strange country; a "kite with a broken string" who regretted his whole life and was in tears as he was unable to stay by his parents' bedside until the last moment before they passed away.

on june 2, 2024, chinese player zhang zhilei (right) competed with american player deontay wilder in a 5vs5 boxing match held in riyadh, saudi arabia. / xinhua news agency wang haizhou

in early july, 41-year-old zhang zhilei was interviewed by southern window. this nearly 2-meter-tall man from central china spoke to southern window about his wanderings, hardships, fragility, struggles and ambitions, all of which were intertwined with his ten years of wandering and journey overseas.

zhang zhilei, who is over 40 and known as the "big bang", is still building up his strength for the arrival of another explosive moment belonging to the boxer.

the gift of redemption

when queen's famous rock song "we will rock you" sounded, zhang zhilei and former wbo (world boxing organization) champion joseph parker started a peak showdown - in this match on march 2 this year, the two fought a total of 12 rounds. facing the new zealander who adopted guerrilla tactics to avoid heavy punches throughout the court, zhang zhilei was finally defeated by points, thus temporarily losing his wbo heavyweight transitional world boxing champion gold belt.

in 2017, new zealand heavyweight boxer joseph parker defeated andy ruiz to win the wbo world heavyweight championship

this narrow defeat was of great significance to zhang zhilei. three months later, on june 2, in the same desert, in riyadh, the saudi arabian "5vs5" boxing team competition kicked off. when zhang zhilei once again crossed the fence and stood under the live camera of the world's top professional boxing event, whether he won or lost almost determined the direction of his future sports career: if he defeated former world boxing champion wilder, he would continue to retain the precious opportunity to challenge for the gold belt; if he lost again, in the field of professional boxing, where the boxer's sports life is considered based on commercial interests, the commercial value and brand appeal that the 41-year-old zhang zhilei can tap into may continue to decline, or even fade.

at the pre-match press conference, wilder, who has earned the title of "terminator" in the circle with his high ko rate, unexpectedly announced that if he lost to zhang zhilei, this would most likely be his last match - in fact, when returning to china for an interview after the match, zhang zhilei also admitted that if he lost again, he was ready to say goodbye to the pair of boxing gloves that had accompanied him for more than 20 years.

"big bang" and "bronze bomber", this decisive battle in the true sense, is the last dance for both sides standing on the edge of the cliff. the two pairs of golden gloves lightly touched each other, and then quickly returned to the defensive posture, and the game began.

it has to be admitted that facing zhang zhilei's powerful punch, which was recognized to have terrifying power, the american's defensive strategy achieved the expected effect in the first four rounds. he seldom took the initiative to throw punches, and even his signature right-hand swing was rarely used. however, he tried to use the front jab to interfere with zhang zhilei, who was taller than him, while constantly retreating and moving around. he also learned from the experience of british player parker in his match against zhang zhilei, and frequently dived to make the former's punches miss many times, trying to consume the physical strength of zhang zhilei, who was two years older than him.

zhang zhilei is recognized for his powerful punches, and he won by technical knockout.

but facing similar defensive strategies, zhang zhilei was ready to deal with them, and the turning point of the game occurred in the next fifth round. under the repeated offensive urging of his coach, wilder began to use his powerful right fist, which once broke through zhang zhilei's defense, and also used small moves such as hugging and hitting the back of the head.

zhang zhilei, who had learned a lesson from the previous defeat, did not panic. another right straight punch came quickly. based on years of hard and intensive training, zhang zhilei, who weighed 130 kilograms, dodged it with a light speed that did not match his appearance. almost at the same time, he gathered his strength and attacked wilder's face.

even in the high-definition replay later, the audience could only see that the tip of zhang zhilei's right hook seemed to have only lightly brushed the tip of wilder's nose - but in an instant, the latter seemed to have lost his sense of direction, swayed in place, turned around, and exposed his back to zhang zhilei.

this is a defensive gap that no professional boxer would miss. "big bang" zhang zhilei then stepped forward and delivered another right punch, causing the former wbc (world boxing council) heavyweight champion to fall to the floor, falling under the punch.

as if with a roar, the "bronze bomber" was shot down, and zhang zhilei sent wilder, who had defended the wbc heavyweight champion ten times, to the crossroads of retirement. this year also happens to be the tenth anniversary of his entry into the world professional boxing arena. a victory that returned to the ranks of championship contenders became the best anniversary gift of redemption that zhang zhilei gave himself.

spire

zhang zhilei has done professional strength tests on his fists. a front hook can produce up to 960 pounds (about 460 kilograms) of energy at the moment of attack - in comparison, the punching strength of a normal adult is generally within 200 pounds.

he is most familiar with the actual feeling of fists hitting flesh. once in a competition, zhang zhilei clearly felt the force being transmitted to his opponent's face, and the opponent's eyebrow arch suddenly broke open as if there was tension. that was the most direct tearing force of the fist's bones on the flesh.

starting from the professional boxing circle in the united states, zhang zhilei is eager to compete with the harder fists in the world. his dream is pure and clear, to be the first chinese to reach the highest honor in the world boxing. "in the past, the heavyweight class was dominated by europeans and americans. i want the chinese to be like a heavy bomb in the world boxing arena and blow it up." after fighting so hard until now, he no longer needs any unnecessary modesty or concealment. his goal is the gold belt.

this is a struggle trajectory that is extremely rare in the personal sports stories of professional athletes in other fields: he once won the super heavyweight runner-up in the beijing olympics in the final battle of the sports feast at home, achieving a "zero breakthrough" in medals in boxing history; when he was about to reach the point in his life where he could return home in glory and retire peacefully, he chose to turn around and go abroad, and devote himself to the professional boxing ring where the competition rules are even more cruel.

zhang zhilei's appearance during the 5v5 boxing match in riyadh, saudi arabia

from his thirties to his forties, his ambitions, his fragility and his struggles were intertwined and integrated in the ten years of wandering overseas. when zhang zhilei, who was over 40 years old, returned triumphantly from riyadh in july this year, he also regained the third place in the wbc heavyweight boxing ranking list.

in saudi arabia, the focus fight between zhang zhilei and american boxer wilder was watched by nearly 4.8 million domestic viewers through paid live broadcasts on online social platforms. more and more fans are witnessing that this 2-meter-tall man who looks like lu zhishen continues to climb to the top in the real world.

perhaps every boxing fan has imagined the scene when the world heavyweight champion wears the five-star red flag for the first time; now, his face is gradually becoming clear. zhang zhilei looks towards the top of the tower he has always dreamed of. there are only "one or two steps" left, and it may not be too far for people to see the birth of this peak moment with their own eyes.

zhang zhilei does have a special obsession with the national flag. he brings it with him to almost every match he has participated in overseas in recent years. on april 15 last year, at the copper box arena in the uk, in the historic match that made china's first wbo heavyweight transitional boxing champion ascend to the throne, zhang zhilei ended the undefeated record of local star joyce. before the referee raised his hand, zhang zhilei took the national flag from the waiting staff and draped it on himself. then he shouted the iconic slogan of "big bang" to the live camera: "this, is chinese power!"

joyce (left) suffered his first defeat in his career and lost the wbo interim heavyweight championship

this special feeling originated from zhang zhilei's first overseas competition. it was an invitational tournament held in romania. zhang zhilei, who had never set foot on european soil before, won his first overseas victory here. however, the result was completely beyond the expectations of the organizing committee: the latter did not expect that the last player standing on the stage was actually a chinese player. therefore, at the award ceremony, no corresponding national flag and national anthem were prepared.

the incident happened suddenly, but fortunately a local overseas chinese lent a five-star red flag on the scene. without musical accompaniment, as the national flag was slowly raised, 18-year-old zhang zhilei looked at the team leader and team doctor standing beside him, and sang "march of the volunteers" into the microphone on the rostrum. tears filled zhang zhilei's eyes as he sang, reflecting himself gradually entering middle age many years later, punching hard inside the rope fences around the world, then clenching the bright red flag in his hand, and shouting "this is the power of china" with his head held high.

according to the rules of the major professional boxing organizations in the world, athletes over 90 kilograms are classified as heavyweights, the highest weight class in the professional circle. in the heavyweight boxing world full of giants, those heavyweight boxers are naturally regarded as the most powerful and formidable group of people on the planet. without a doubt, the title of "heavyweight champion" of the four major organizations is the most appealing and influential title in the field of professional boxing.

modern boxing originated in the uk. in the past, including free fighting and mma mixed martial arts, the heavyweight standing field has always been dominated by european and american sturdy men. it is difficult to find a chinese name in the top 30 heavyweight boxers in the world, not to mention the hall of fame, which symbolizes legends. those heavyweight boxing predecessors who won the official gold belt are very few. until april 15, 2023, in the wbo heavyweight transition championship held in london, england, after the sixth round, zhang zhilei, who was immediately draped with the five-star red flag, wrote a new page for the history of chinese heavyweight athletes in the world boxing arena.

zhang zhilei scored the most important victory of his career by knocking out undefeated joe joyce with a stunning technical knockout in the sixth round

back to this day in late spring in england. before the match, the authoritative magazine "ring" gave a ranking, joyce ranked fifth in the world, while zhang zhilei was outside the top 20. whether it was professional match experience and fame, or the competition venue, the former's various paper indicators had opened up a gap with the low-key zhang zhilei in the past - it seemed that zhang zhilei was more like a carefully "selected" warm-up match object, hoping to use the poor student to score points and let the british, who are famous for their "resistance to beatings", achieve the purpose of training.

but after the bell rang, joyce, whose jawbone density is said to be five times that of a normal person, was hit the hardest in his career. zhang zhilei, who had no psychological burden, showed a far more aggressive attitude than the runner-up in the rio olympics super heavyweight boxing at his opponent's home court.

it is no exaggeration to say that joyce was not prepared at all to deal with the fierce and hidden punches of the left-handed zhang zhilei. his granite chin was not pierced, but the injury to his eye made it difficult for him to finish the game, and he even had to pause and receive a detailed examination from the doctor. the result of the game was no surprise. in the sixth round, zhang zhilei defeated joyce by technical knockout (tko) - borrowing the description of a reporter from the american media: "zhang zhilei 'beat' joyce for six consecutive rounds until the referee mercifully stopped the game."

zhang zhilei's dark horse status was thus revealed in the world boxing arena. joyce, who had tasted defeat for the first time, was eager to make a comeback and soon sent an invitation letter to zhang zhilei for another fight. the second fight was scheduled for september 14 of the same year. still in london, joyce, who had restarted the rematch clause, was no longer careless and put more energy into movement and defense - but the result was even more tragic. at the end of the third round, zhang zhilei seized the loophole under the british's fierce attack and knocked him to the ground with a counter-attack.

on september 23, 2023, chinese boxer zhang zhilei celebrated his victory after defeating british boxer joe joyce in the wbo interim heavyweight title rematch held in london, uk. / photo by li ying, xinhua news agency

it was a clean knockout, and the referee stopped the match after counting down. zhang zhilei defended his wbo interim gold belt. without a doubt, this was the heaviest punch thrown by china.

take off the vest

on the wall of the training hall of henan heavy athletics aviation sports center, there is a slogan "win glory for the motherland and pride for the nation". since he was a teenager, it has been zhang zhilei's belief in daily high-intensity training.

with his increasingly sturdy figure and large hands, zhang zhilei has a natural fit with the sport of boxing. as early as 2009, when preparing for the 11th national games, zhang zhilei went to the united states to study under the famous boxing coach du wa, and received a prophetic evaluation from the coaching staff: "this is a talented boxer, but if he wants to improve to a higher level, it will take at least three to six months."

for a boxer, if he can achieve a phased improvement in his competitive level within such a time span, it is an improvement that is enough to attract attention from the outside world. in the team of lao dua, there are experienced industry insiders, including the technical director of the us olympic team. perhaps it was this seemingly calm professional comment at the time that ignited zhang zhilei's desire to be stronger. in his spare time before bidding farewell to the amateur boxing circle, he began to have such a vision in his mind: to go to the holy land of the world professional boxing arena to see it for himself.

an objective fact that cannot be ignored is that at that time, the domestic boxing world was particularly short of talent in the large weight class. in contrast, recent data show that there are as many as 5,000 registered professional boxers in the united states. zhang zhilei, who longed to "do boxing well for his whole life", had to look to the other side, the american professional boxing world with more professional experience in sparring and training, and took the first step to the heavyweight world dominated by europeans and americans.

in order to practice boxing well, zhang zhilei went to the united states/photo provided by the interviewee

public records show that on september 10, 2013, in jinzhou, liaoning, the 12th national games boxing 91kg and above finals were held, which became the final battle of zhang zhilei's 15-year amateur boxing career. after winning his third national games gold medal, zhang zhilei took off his competition vest, folded it neatly, placed it on the boxing ring, and then knelt down and gave a deep kiss to the floor in front of him.

in the boxing ring that followed, zhang zhilei no longer wore upper body clothing during his fighting years: according to amateur boxing rules, athletes must wear vests during competitions and also put on protective helmets, which are still somewhat controversial - these are equipment that will not appear in professional boxing matches.

compared with amateur competitions that focus more on technical scores to determine victory or defeat, in professional boxing matches, athletes wear smaller and thinner gloves and are more inclined to launch attacks and ultimately knock down opponents to determine victory or defeat. there is undoubtedly a clear gap between the two in terms of the intensity and cruelty of the competition. the latter also poses a more difficult test to the contestants' physical fitness, technical requirements and competitive will.

the red vest representing the henan province boxing team condenses the sweat that zhang zhilei shed when he joined professional sports teams at all levels at a young age. just as his agent li maopei told me, his many years in sports teams were like a suit of armor for zhang zhilei, protecting him all the time before he was 30 years old. but from the moment he took it off, he had nothing left.

zhang zhilei is wearing a red vest representing the henan boxing team

li maopei and zhang zhilei first met in 2011 when he was working as an interpreter for the national boxing team. thirteen years ago, zhang zhilei's mandarin still had a strong henan accent. when they met, zhang zhilei spoke, and li maopei, who was from guizhou, didn't understand a word he said. he asked him to repeat it again, but he still didn't understand.

the first encounter left them with an awkward feeling of "talking at cross purposes". perhaps they had never imagined that in the future, the two of them would carry four boxes and travel across the ocean together, starting from new jersey in the northeastern united states, fighting side by side to start a new journey of professional boxing.

the departure date was set for march 8, 2014. according to zhang zhilei's original plan, five months later, on august 8 - the opening anniversary of the 29th beijing olympic games - would be his first fight in the professional boxing world. he only had five months to prepare and adapt, and everything was waiting for him to start all over again.

after settling down, zhang zhilei couldn't wait to go to the local boxing gym to start training. as a newcomer, the boxers in the gym didn't notice this tall and strong yellow-skinned middle-aged man. zhang zhilei shouted to the people around him: "i am the olympic runner-up!" still no one paid attention.

on august 24, 2008, chinese athlete zhang zhilei won the runner-up in the 91kg and above category

when his wallet was empty, zhang zhilei felt that he could not move forward every day in america. after the first game, he received a bonus of 7,500 us dollars. after deducting taxes and settling coaching fees, he was left with more than 3,000 us dollars.

when they first arrived in the united states, the monthly rent for their residence was more than $2,000. taking into account the venue fees, nutritious meals and transportation expenses, zhang zhilei still admits when he thinks back now: "it was indeed very difficult."

he recalled to nanfengchuang that the last straw that almost broke his back occurred during the period of tightening personnel mobility after the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. zhang zhilei, who had returned to china for a long time, had not yet been approved for a visa to go to the united states again. recalling the pain and grievance of not having received high-quality competitions, and all kinds of memories of making a living in the united states, he finally spoke to li maopei on the phone: "please help me cancel the lease of the house in the united states and sell the car at a car dealership."

li maopei, who was by zhang zhilei's side and who understood his situation and state of mind the best, did not persuade him and followed the arrangement. but when li maopei drove the car to the dealership and was estimating the price, zhang zhilei's visa was approved - "don't sell the car, i'll be right over!"

Big Bang Zhang

people are used to praising the pursuit of a stronger fighting spirit in boxing by calling it a "game of the brave", but behind the halo, it may partially obscure the degree of danger involved in professional boxing - it is an extremely risky competitive sport, and it is even the fighting sport with the highest probability of athlete deaths. it is no exaggeration to say that every heavy punch in the ring may destroy the boxer's future life.

because of this, and unlike other sports competitions, as the level increases, each professional boxing team becomes more cautious in selecting opponents. coupled with the relatively mature operation of the four major professional boxing organizations, it is normal for today's top boxers to maintain a frequency of 2 to 3 matches per year.

but zhang zhilei, who had just arrived in the american professional boxing world, naturally had a much higher appearance fee than the long-established gold belt holders. zhang zhilei always liked to say, "the boxing ring is so small, and there are only two possibilities for two people: either you beat someone or you get beaten. it depends on your choice." in order to maintain his daily life and training expenses, he could only keep on running around preparing for fights and competing. in one year, he even had as many as 6 matches.

in order to earn more appearance fees, zhang zhilei was forced to ask the promotion company for more competitions. he has participated in various competition venues, some in temporary sheds in gymnasiums, some in hotel lobbies. the one that impressed him the most was a small venue in new jersey: the backstage locker room was a hastily borrowed toilet, and when the team walked in, before they had time to make pre-match preparations, the stench of the toilet wafted from deeper inside, and everyone ran out again.

zhang zhilei trains at a training ground in new jersey, usa

these embarrassing moments in the early days of the career were nothing more than a topic of conversation for the team when they were mentioned afterwards. however, on march 1, 2021, at the hard rock arena in miami, zhang zhilei fought against american boxer frost, a ten-round non-title fight that did not cause much waves before the game. however, when li maopei recalls it, "his hairs stand on end."

until the third round, zhang zhilei successfully knocked down the american in every round. li maopei and the american agent looked at each other in the audience. all signs seemed to indicate that tonight was another stress-free victory. the accident came silently, as if it happened in an instant. zhang zhilei could no longer accurately capture the coach's instructions in the noisy arena, as if he had entered a state of soul wandering out of his body.

frost's heavy punches hit zhang zhilei again and again. the latter was unable to defend himself and had to rely on his most instinctive fighting spirit to finish the game. later, zhang zhilei recalled that he had completely lost consciousness in the sixth round of the game.

li maopei and the coach, each holding one shoulder, tried their best to carry zhang zhilei off the court and back to the locker room. li maopei told me that he felt that he had no strength at all during the journey, "the weight of my entire body was pressing down, and i couldn't even kick my legs up." lying on the floor of the locker room, zhang zhilei kept sweating, and soon a puddle of water formed under him.

zhang zhilei and li maopei (right)

in the state of confusion, zhang zhilei felt that his heart was in great pain and he was restless. he had no choice but to drink a lot of water. this was also the first time that li maopei saw someone so close to death. in the ambulance to the hospital, zhang zhilei, who had regained some consciousness, asked li maopei: "who won?" this made him feel depressed: "brother lei didn't even know the final win or loss. it seems that there is something wrong with his body."

liver and kidney failure, electrolyte imbalance, the doctor's diagnosis results came one by one. fortunately, after three days of hospitalization, zhang zhilei's body did not suffer any serious sequelae from the accident - but the pain brought by the palpitations could not be ignored. this serious warning signal made him realize that it was time to change: for top athletes in various events, on their arduous climb, many seemingly insignificant habits in daily life may become a crack in the rock under their feet, and then spread, spread, and then collapse, smashing them to pieces.

there was no longer the pleasure of having a couple of glasses of wine when he had nothing to do. in order to prevent iron deficiency anemia during intense exercise, zhang zhilei put away the tea sets he had made himself. from then on, his only drink was water. he prepared three meals a day by himself, and the dishes were all boiled or fresh food, with only two seasonings: salt and black pepper.

"let the tiger go back to the mountains." on the day he was discharged from the hospital, zhang zhilei, who was not frightened by the near-death experience, joked this to li maopei beside him.

zhang zhilei pays more attention to daily diet and health

the bold words have become reality, the fuse behind him flashed sparks, and the "big bang" came into being and burned rapidly. after experiencing contract disputes and even death threats from his first promotion company, zhang zhilei, who has regrouped, is already 37 years old and can no longer afford to waste any time.

since then, among foreign boxing fans, this 1.98-meter-tall chinese man has a new name that is easier to pronounce: big bang zhang. after leaving his homeland, he went to the american boxing arena alone. during his years of fighting, every time he fought to the end in the ring, he always liked to shout loudly at the end of the game: "this is the power of china."

lonely road

"only through devilish training can one become a devil." zhang zhilei wrote this on his social media account. in 365 days a year, zhang zhilei keeps all his check-in records, and spends 300 days in the boxing gym. he also relaxes on weekends by going to the shooting range with li maopei, but he also goes there with a purpose, in order to "focus more, adjust his breathing, and exercise his observation skills."

staying focused has allowed zhang zhilei to remember every bit of his efforts and progress. after years of being away from home, he has a precise and quantitative memory of the feeling of leaving his hometown. eight years after he came to the united states, he revealed in an interview that during this period, he had only spent "no more than a year at most" in china.

the debt to his family and relatives is inevitable. especially when he was in the united states, he missed seeing his parents for the last time. this became the deepest pain in zhang zhilei's heart. in almost every chinese talk show, when he talked about his memories and regrets about his parents, zhang zhilei was speechless and choked up, unable to control himself.

every time he went back to his hometown to visit his family, his mother would tell him to “stop wandering around outside”, and zhang zhilei would always answer “i’ll be back to be with you guys after two more years of fighting”. however, those words that once called the wandering son back to his hometown, and the promise that could never be fulfilled, became the most difficult shame for this tough boxer to let go of his mother.

the audience cheered for zhang zhilei at the scene

it was a day in september of the lunar calendar in 2017. as usual, zhang zhilei got up at around 5:00 to go to training. at around 7:00, a call from his brother in china broke the regular training rhythm. "come back, mom is gone."

zhang zhilei didn't even bother to bring a piece of luggage and rushed to the airport alone. the earliest flight was at 11 a.m., departing from the united states. after more than ten hours of flight time, he landed in beijing, then took the high-speed rail to zhengzhou, and then drove for several hours. when zhang zhilei finally returned to his hometown, the clock had already pointed to 2 a.m. the next day.

zhang zhilei, who has already entered the ranks of the world's top boxers, still can't help crying when he thinks of this scene. such a struggle is indeed cruel in a real way - when one end of the scale is the ultimate goal of personal career, and the other end is the love of family, anyone standing in front of this scale will face great pain.

for zhang zhilei, an unavoidable question is, looking back, if he could choose again, would he still be so determined to embark on the lonely road of struggling in a foreign country for ten years?

"yes." zhang zhilei gave a brief and firm answer.

zhang zhilei in the 5v5 game/photo provided by the interviewee

he told nanfengchuang: "rather than saying that i found boxing, it's better to say that boxing found me. i feel that boxing is my passion and the direction of my life. no matter when or where, i will continue on this path unswervingly."

after winning this crucial battle in his career in riyadh, zhang zhilei finally had another chance and boarded a flight back to his hometown, shenqiu, zhoukou. he missed the wheat harvest and did not have much time to reunite with his family, but during the dozens of days of vacation, zhang zhilei has traveled to shenzhen, beijing, inner mongolia and other places, busy with business activities related to sponsors' rights - this is to better build his own professional team. if he wants to realize his dream of becoming a world boxing champion, he must have a more solid economic support.

apart from this, zhang zhilei has very little leisure time to himself. less than a month after returning to china, on july 3, his agent li maopei told me that he had flown to thailand to apply for a visa to the united states. five days later, a social dynamic with an ip address in the united states was made public in zhang zhilei's personal account: zhang zhilei walked out of the airport with his luggage, raised his right hand and made a "yeah" gesture, leaving a departing back view for the fans in front of the camera.

now, rumors are growing that he will fight german cabayere next, or start a second "revenge" match against joseph parker. the opponent has not been officially confirmed, the time has not been set, and the location is unknown. zhang zhilei doesn't care. in paterson, new jersey, at the "true warrior" boxing gym, he has returned to his familiar place of pursuing his dreams, accumulating energy and preparing for the future. another "decisive moment" for a boxer, the explosive moment is coming.

zhang zhilei returns to the place where he pursues his dreams to continue training / photo provided by the interviewee

zhang zhilei has resumed his rigorous training two to three months before the competition. in the six days of each week, he told the reporter that his training is still mainly divided into two parts: boxing training and physical training. on the days of boxing training, he would get up at 5 a.m. to run, and enter the boxing gym at noon to start boxing training. one month before the competition, he would have actual combat drills twice a week.

zhang zhilei shared his daily life with the southern window reporter: entering the preparation period, diet control is more strict, less salt and less oil are the basis, and carbohydrates and proteins must be scientifically proportioned. everything is moving forward along the track that has been explored and laid out in the past ten years.

but on the night before the actual combat day, zhang zhilei's physical trainer allowed him to eat a piece of pizza as a small indulgence as a cheat meal, which was a new expectation for the next day - "the feeling at that moment was very comfortable," he thought.