Zhilei Zhang vs Jerry Forrest Preview Feb. 27th
Veteran heavyweight Jerry Forrest of Lafayette, Louisiana will be meeting unbeaten Zhilei Zhang of China in a 10-round tilt in Miami, Florida this Saturday, Feb. 27th on the undercard of the Alvarez vs Yildirim tilt. The contest between the two southpaws can be seen on DAZN in North America and the UK. Forrest last saw action in July when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Carlos Takam while Zhang boxed in November when he stopped Devin Vargas in the fourth round.
Zhang vs Forrest Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jerry Forrest +500
- Zhilei Zhang -800
My Pick
Forrest is 32 years old and enters the fight with a record of 26-4 with 20 Kos. He made his pro debut back in 2012 and has just 93 rounds of experience under his belt. The main reasons for his low round total are because he’s been 10 rounds just twice and plenty of his knockouts have been early in fights. And speaking of stoppages, he has good power, especially in his left hand, with a current knockout ratio of 66.7 per cent.
Forrest stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 78-inch reach. The other losses on his pro record have been at the hands of Gerald Washington in 2013 when he was stopped in the second round, then an eight-round unanimous decision defeat to Michael Hunter 10 months later in his next outing. He was also beaten via a 10-round split decision by Jermaine Franklin in July, 2019.
As you can see, when stepping up in class, Forrest hasn’t fared too well as of yet. His best wins have been over the likes of Riley Brooks, Marlon Hayes, Willis Lockett (twice), Grover Young (three times), Miree Coleman (twice), Edgar Perez and Lamont Capers. Just 12 of his 30 foes have entered the ring with winning records though and only three of the last eight.
As for Zhang, he’s already 37 years old but has a perfect mark of 22-0 with 17 Kos. This was built on his power as he owns a current knockout percentage of 77.3 per cent. He’s boxed just 59 rounds since turning pro in 2014 and has gone 10 rounds just once. This came in November, 2019 when he beat Andriy Rudenko by unanimous decision to retain his WBO Oriental Heavyweight Title. Zhang won that belt back in 2017 with a first-round stoppage of Peter Graham.
Zhang is one of today’s breed of big heavyweights as he stands 6-feet-6-inches tall but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. This gives him a five-inch height edge on Forrest. His list of opponents so far includes the likes of Rudenko, Vargas, Byron Polley, Curtis Harper, Mark Brown Galen Brown, Curtis Harper and Don Haynesworth.
While Zhang isn’t very well known as a pro boxer, he had a fine amateur career as he won a silver medal as a super heavyweight at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as well as a bronze medal at the world amateur championships in 2007 and 2009. He was beaten in the amateurs by Grzegorz Kielsa, Odlanier Solis, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Roberto Cammarelle and Anthony Joshua but beat Joseph Parker.
Prediction…
Forrest is a solid pro but hasn’t beaten anybody of note with most of his wins coming against journeymen. Zhang doesn’t have the greatest boxing skills because he’s never really needed them due to his power. However, if Forrest can evade his relatively slow power punches he may take this to the distance. Forrest needs to keep busy and get inside each round while trying to outwork and pressure Zhang without getting caught on the chin. I think his chances are about 50-50 but forced to pick a winner I’ll go with Zhang.
Zhang’s power may be too much.
Play Zhang -800 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Jerry Forrest betting • Zhelei Zhang betting