Next year could be a career defining one for Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang.
After back-to-back stoppage wins over Britain's Joe Joyce, Zhang is now a mandatory challenger for the WBO world heavyweight title which is currently held by Oleksandr Usyk.
However, with Usyk set to face WBC champion Tyson Fury for the undisputed world heavyweight title in early 2024, Zhang will have to wait a while longer until he gets his chance to become a world champion.
As anticipation builds ahead of Fury vs. Usyk, Zhang has now accused the WBC world heavyweight champion of actively avoiding him by reaching a deal to face the Ukrainian in an interview with Gambling.com.
"I don’t know if Fury is past his prime or not, but he did not train for the Ngannou fight and was not dedicated as a professional for it," Zhang said.
"When I called him out after knocking Joe Joyce out, he was in a conversation with Oleksandr Usyk to fight for two years but as soon as I called him out the fight got made.
"That to me means Fury and his team want to avoid me."