Recently, Zhang Zhilei shared the story of two of his coaches, Tommy and Sean. Surprisingly, Tommy is not only Sean's coach, but also his father-in-law! It's a big surprise. Coach Sean, a former professional boxer who also coached the Chinese national boxing team, formed a deep mentor-apprentice friendship with Zhang Zhilei at that time.
During his first two years in the United States, Zhang chose to train with other coaches. However, in 2017, he decided to play alongside Coach Sean. In the world of professional boxing, many fighters face financial hardship before becoming famous, and Zhang Zhilei is no exception. In the early years of the United States, he was under tremendous financial pressure and often found himself in the dilemma of making ends and making ends meet. It wasn't until after the defeat to Hrgovich that his financial situation began to improve. As the income of the fighters increases, so does the income of the coaches.
There is a general rule when it comes to the relationship between professional fighters and coaches: the coach's salary is usually 10% of the fighter's appearance fee. This means that when Zhang Zhilei's appearance fee is only a few thousand or tens of thousands of dollars, Coach Sean's income is not high. However, when Zhang Zhilei faced Hrgovic and Joyce in two crucial matches, his appearance fee soared to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Coach Sean's income also increased.
Between coaches and fighters, they are actually a close community of interests. It is only when the fighters' results get better and better that the coach's income will steadily increase. To maximise a fighter's potential, coaches do their best, which is why Pacquiao and his coach Roach are able to share a good income. In the showdown with Mayweather, Pacquiao's appearance fee was as high as more than $100 million.
As for Zhang Zhilei's match with Parker, it is reported that his appearance fee exceeded $1 million. What's even more exciting is that the news from the United States that Zhang Zhilei may earn more than $5 million from this game. Hopefully, this news is accurate, after all, Parker was charged a whopping $10 million in appearances in his last game against Wilder.
Coach Sean has been working hard to help Zhang Zhilei improve his skills, and they are pursuing higher honors and a better future together. I would like to pay tribute to Coach Sean for his dedication and support to the boxers! Zhang Zhilei is an outstanding figure in the field of professional boxing in our country, and he has made great contributions to this field. I always thought he deserved a higher income. In the case of Tyson Fury's match with Nagano, it is said that Fury's appearance fee is as high as $50 million. Since this is the case, then Zhang Zhilei should also have such an opportunity!
While there are 17 divisions in professional boxing, the heavyweight division has always been in the spotlight. Now, Zhang Zhilei is the WBO heavyweight interim champion and has a good chance of becoming an official champion by the end of the year. Once he wins the title and has one or two more unification fights, his value is bound to reach an all-time high.
However, the development of professional boxing in our country needs to be improved, and there are too few people who practice boxing. It is hoped that Zhang Zhilei's success will inspire more young people to devote themselves to boxing. Only when more people participate can the overall level of professional boxing be improved. Just like table tennis and badminton, the increase in the number of participants has boosted the development of these sports!