Zhilei Zhang Hospitalized Following Draw Saturday

Zhilei Zhang, arguably the best Asian boxer in the world, looked en route to an easy stoppage victory over Jerry Forrest Saturday night from the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

What happened instead is a hard-fought draw and a hospital visit instead.

Jake Donovan of Boxingscene wrote Monday that the undefeated Zhang (22-0-1, 17 KOs) was kept for precautionary measures following a 10-round majority draw against Jerry Forrest that was on the undercard that led up to the easy work for Canelo Alvarez over mandatory challenger Anvi Yildirim.

“Zhilei Zhang started off better than we could have hoped with three knockdowns in the first three rounds. But credit and respect to the game Jerry Forrest who battled back for a ten-round draw,” Terry Lane, Zhang’s co-manager, said in a statement on Sunday to Boxingscene. “It was apparent to us that Zhang was not himself in the second half of the fight. He had a good training camp that included high-quality sparring sessions.

Three Rounds, Three Knock-Downs for Zhang 💥 pic.twitter.com/qoTQhLXr0u

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 28, 2021

“But in the locker room afterward, we noticed some concerning symptoms and took Zhang to the hospital where he will spend a couple of nights. The good news is that all of his neurological scans are clear. However, he is suffering from anemia, high enzyme levels, and low-level renal failure, which may have been caused by severe dehydration.”

As Lane mentioned, Zhang started off guns blazed as he was able to land three clean knockdowns on Forrest in the early rounds. Still, Forrest was able to wither this storm and, by the sixth round of this fight, was the aggressor to a visibly spent Zhang in the ring who could do nothing much in the fight after the knockdowns but clench. So much so he was deducted a point for it which ultimately made the eventual draw result the reality.

We’ll see where Zhang goes from here, but it’s clear that at age 37 and unable to put away Forrest, the career roof on him may be hit after this effort.

“We will address these issues, and Zhilei Zhang will be back,” vows Lane. “We want to thank everyone for their concern and kind words of support that our team has received.

While we keep an eye on his well-being, it’s worth noting that the fight with Forrest might have been the most entertaining among heavyweights this weekend that aired.