Eddie Hearn won’t let me fight Anthony Joshua – he thinks I’m too much of a risk, claims Zhilei Zhang

ZHILEI ZHANG has claimed Anthony Joshua is being protected from a fight against him.

Joshua, 34, secured a third successive win in Saudi Arabia in December with an impressive fifth-round stoppage of Swede Otto Wallin.

Anthony Joshua is set to face Francis Ngannou in MarchReuters

Zhilei Zhang believes promoter Eddie Hearn is protecting Joshua from the Chinese heavyweightGetty

On the same night, a huge clash with Deontay Wilder disappeared as the American was beaten by Joseph Parker.

Now Joshua is set to take on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou on March 9 following the MMA star’s controversial loss to Tyson Fury on his pro debut.

And Zhang, 40, who is coming off back-to-back victories over Joe Joyce, is not surprised Joshua’s team have opted for an Ngannou fight.

Speaking to Boxing News, he said: “I can’t say I’m disappointed, it’s a matter of personal choice, Joshua has his personal choice.

“If you look at Ngannou, he’s come into the sport and has a record of 0 and 1. He’s the cash cow.

“If I fought Ngannou I would make a ton of money. What is boxing, is it a business or a competitive sport? That’s the question.”

Zhang, who was previously signed with Joshua’s representation Eddie Hearn, then cited the promoter as the reason for an AJ fight not materialising.

He added: “Actually I never thought this fight would be made. If Joshua believes he only has 40 per cent chance he can beat me, it won’t happen.

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Hearn has promoted Joshua since his professional debut in 2013Rex

Ngannou has landed another blockbuster heavyweight clashReuters

“I don’t even think it’s a 60-40 in his head. Eddie Hearn will not let him fight me. It’s too much of a risk.

“When I signed with Matchroom a couple of years ago, that was one of the conversations we had.

“My team flew to London to talk about it but it’s been years and it never materialised. They know how to avoid all the risks.

“That’s how he [Hearn] does his work as a promoter, he builds up whatever he wants to build up.

“I believe they successfully avoided all the risks but I don’t know if this fight will ever happen in the future, they will just keep using my name to build up whatever they want to build up.”

Zhang boasts a professional record of 26 wins, one draw and one defeat.

His only loss came in controversial fashion against Filip Hrgovic in 2022.

He is being linked with a fight against Wilder on the undercard of Joshua vs Ngannou.