Anthony Joshua knocked down the great wall of China’s amateur boxing on his way to building Britain’s rising tally of guaranteed medals in the ExCel ring to four.
Zhilei Zhang, a giant panda of a super-heavyweight, was floored by a perfect right hook from the Londoner of whom great things are expected this week and in the professional ranks in the near future.
Zhang, the silver medallist in Beijing, was bamboozled by Joshua’s speed before being decked in the second.
On the way to glory: Anthony Joshua beat Zhilei Zhang in the quarter finals
He recovered to give Joshua a score-draw war in the third round but ended up being soundly outpointed 15-11.
This time Joshua did it all by himself. There was no need of help from the judges who gave him the benefit of huge doubt against Cuba’s slick Erislandy Savon in his opening bout of London 2012.
Every fight adds experience to this comparative novice and this bout should help him against the large and heavy-handed Kazakh Ivan Dychko in Friday’s semi-final.
Knock down: Zhang hits the canvas after being hit by Joshua
Joshua said: ‘I’m glad I’ve got the medal but I want to go all the way. Every fight is a learning curve for me and Lennox (Lewis) has advised me to use my jab more. I also know I must keep my feet on the ground.’
Another wildly enthusiastic crowd at the ExCel took Joshua to their hearts as he set his sights on one of the gold medals expected of this British team.
The football ground atmosphere confirms there is a fortune awaiting him if he can succeed Lennox Lewis and Audley Harrison to the biggest Olympic throne.
On the front foot: Joshua beats Zhang on points
Joshua was preceded into the men’s semi-finals by a team-mate who also had to redeem himself. If you get lucky once you have to wake up and go-go.
Anthony Ogogo made the most of the generosity of the judges, who gifted him a dubious victory against world amateur middleweight champion Ievgen Khytrov last week, by dazzling his way to a guaranteed medal with a 15-10 victory over Germany’s Stefan Hartel which did not flatter the Englishman. He will face Esquiva Falcao of Brazil — the fourth seed — in the semi-final.
