In front of a raucous crowd inside the packed-out Foshan Nanhai Gymnasium, Zhang was able to impress all three judges in a fight where both competitors went on the attack almost from the off.

The Chinese boxer, clearly inspired by the noise and the atmosphere generated by the partisan spectators, found his length early on as he dominated the opening three rounds, with the Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medallist firmly on the back foot.

It took until five rounds for the Frenchman to really announce himself in the fight after a torrid opening where Zhang landed constant shots to both his head and body.

Djelkhir showed his mettle, however, as he kept himself in the bout, thanks largely to tightening up his defences, and took advantage when Zhang began to tire.

Djelkhir won both the fifth and six rounds on the judges’ scorecards before Zhang stormed back to take the seventh, finding the form which had seen him dominate the early stages of the fight.

He continued to land tough blows to Djelkhir’s body but the Frenchman refused to give in, pulling another round back by claiming the eighth.

That proved to be his last success of the bout as Zhang found a second wind and seized control of the fight once again, despite moving into unchartered territory as he had never gone beyond eight rounds before.

By the 12th and final period, Djelkhir was showing signs of desperation, knowing only a knockout would hand him an unlikely win, but Zhang kept his cool to earn the verdict.


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