Anthony Joshua’s beaten Olympic opponent Zhilei Zhang suffered from kidney failure and anaemia after his fight with Jerry Forrest, his co-manager Terry Lane revealed.
The 37-year-old Chinese fighter fought Joshua in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Olympics heavyweight competition. He had been hoping to set up a rematch with Joshua as professionals, though the British fighter is focused on an expected bout with Tyson Fury. Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn recently told DAZN he expects that fight to be agreed soon.
Zhang had appeared in control against the 32-year-old Forrest, sending him to the canvas three times in the fight before rapidly fading to hold on for a draw. Since the fight he has been in hospital with kidney problems, and has also been given a diagnosis of anaemia.
Speaking to Bad Left Hook, Lane said: “Zhang had a great camp. For some reason, he was extremely dehydrated and his kidneys began to fail during the fight. He also had very low iron levels and we learned he was anaemic. He was rushed to the hospital and wasn’t released for three days. Head and heart were fine, thank god. But he feels good, and we are talking to some medical professionals to get to the bottom of what happened and what is going on with him. But he will be back. Matchroom has been very supportive.”
Lane continued: “When the final bell rang, Forrest is doing backflips in the middle of the ring and Zhang is slumped over his corner. Zhang has no recollection of the walk back to the locker room. Of course, my mind goes to the worst place; a brain bleed or something. There were several of us in the back, and it was determined that he should go to the hospital. Then Zhang started to feel worse and ultimately they rushed him in an ambulance.”
Lane summed up the problems Zhang has had to deal with, saying: “Low level kidney failure, liver damage, anemic. CPK [creatine phosphokinase] levels through the roof. “It was scary, and a bit of a mystery, but we are going to fully address all of these issues with medical professionals.”