The event at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, featured showdowns between boxing promotions, with Zhang vs. Wilder at the top of the bill in a heavyweight clash that was sure to produce fireworks. At 1:51 of Round 5, it would be Zhang who lit the fuse and detonated a vicious right hand on the chin of Wilder to close the show.
It had been difficult to schedule this fight. Both men were contractually bound to different promoters and cable television companies. Tyson had attacked and bitten Lewis during a press conference, which also had a dampening effect. Tyson’s legal problems caused him to be denied a boxing license by the sanctioning bodies of the U.S. states that usually hold major boxing matches (such as Nevada). It had been so long since Tyson had fought a boxer of his own calibre that no one knew the level of his skills. The question was settled when Lewis twice knocked Tyson to the canvas during the course of the fight before knocking him out in the eighth round.
Throughout his life and career, Tyson’s tattoo has been a constant companion, serving as a reminder of his roots and the obstacles he has overcome. As he continues to evolve personally and professionally, the tattoo remains a lasting symbol of his resilience and determination. Mike Tyson tattoo removal would not only be an act of physical change, but also a symbol of a break from his past and the stories he has experienced.
Pro boxing in China, long outlawed during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, experienced a brief renaissance (or a « Rebellion » as a New Yorker profile termed it) in 2013 when two-time gold medalist Zou Shiming signed with Top Rank and kicked off a series of Vegas-style boxing events in Macau. Zhang’s own introduction to the sport began many years earlier, when he watched the first meeting between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield in 1996.
Retired professional boxer Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world in 1986, at age 20. He lost the title in 1990 and later served three years in prison after being convicted on rape charges. Tyson subsequently earned further notoriety by biting off part of opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear during a 1997 match. Since retiring from boxing in 2005, Tyson has appeared in several movies and TV shows, become a best-selling author, and launched a successful cannabis business.
With the win Hrgovic extended his unbeaten record to 15-0 (12 KOs) as one of the self-proclaimed ‘most avoided’ heavyweights in the what is 8 division in boxing, while the result marked the first defeat of 39-year-old Zhang’s career.
In 1996, Zhang was born to a sports family in Shanghai. His father Zhang Weihua (张卫华) played football in the Chinese Jia-A League as a defender for Shanghai Shenhua. His mother was a member of the Shanghai shooting sports team and later worked at the Shanghai bureau of China Telecom. From age 4 to age 6, he had two weekly swimming classes at kindergarten, and his parents enrolled him to tennis lessons in the weekends. When he reached elementary school, his parents let him decide which one of the two sports to continue. He chose tennis because the swimming teachers were strict, partly because of their responsibility of ensuring swimming safety. From 2008 to 2013, he was coached by Shao Donglu (邵东路).
After moving to the United States in 2014, Zhang rarely visited China to see his parents, wife and son (born 2010 ) because he had to reapply for single-entry working visa every time. After a fight in China, he failed to get a visa and was stuck there for ten months between October 2018 and July 2019, missing a fight with Andriy Rudenko scheduled for November 2018 in Monaco. He was stuck for too long and asked his manager to terminate his housing lease and sell his car in New Jersey. He missed another fight scheduled in March 2020 in the United States after attending his father’s funeral. His flight scheduled for February 3, 2020, was two days after the United States implemented a COVID-19 travel ban on Chinese citizens. The 37-year-old Zhang had to wait another eight months for his next bout on November 7, 2020, with Devin Vargas on the undercard of the WBC lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Yuriorkis Gamboa.
Zhang began her grass-court season at the Birmingham Classic as the ninth seed, losing to the top-seed and eventual champion Ana Ivanovic in the semifinal. Played in the doubles competition with Caroline Garcia losing to the second-seeded team of Ashleigh Barty & Casey Dellacqua in the semifinal round. Lost at the Eastbourne International to Varvara Lepchenko in the first round. She suffered another first-round loss in a Major at Wimbledon against 15th seed Carla Suárez Navarro in straight sets, and her losing streak reached eleven. Partnering with Yanina Wickmayer in doubles, lost to the 11th-seeded team of Alla Kudryavtseva & Anastasia Rodionova in the first round. She then entered the mixed doubles with Nicholas Monroe, losing to the 13th-seeded team of Bruno Soares & Martina Hingis in the second round.