Zhilei Zhang cemented his place at the heavyweight top table with a second consecutive victory over Joe Joyce in London.
The big man from China one again controlled the action against Joyce, knocking him out cold in half the time he managed to stop him in their first bout back in April.
Speaking to Boxing Social, he said he was pleasantly surprised at how quickly he asserted his dominance.
“I was hoping to get him out of there by four or five, but I did it by three. It was in my expectation. When you train really hard like me, you get lucky. My power comes from the camp, my coaches and the boxing fans.”
Even at 40-years-old, the general consensus is that southpaw ‘Big Bang’ gives any fighter a tough night’s work, and he wants to put that to the test against the man most believe to be the best in the world.
Post-fight in the ring, Zhang asked the London crowd if they would like to see him ‘shut Tyson Fury up.’ Speaking to Boxing Social later, he confirmed this is the fight he would instruct his team to try and make.
“I still want Tyson Fury after the Ngannou fight. My team will get on it.”
Zhang’s WBO Interim title makes him number one challenger for Oleksandr Usyk, the division’s other champion who holds that belt alongside the IBF and WBA.
That mandatory is expected to be ordered towards the middle of next year, however how the heavyweight puzzle will look by then is unclear.
Fury and Usyk are expected to reignite undisputed talks – whether or not ‘The Gypsy King’ can be tempted away for a stadium fight in China is yet to be seen.