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Zhang is the rare goliath with genuinely sharp technique, not to mention deceptively fast hands. What he lacks are foot speed and, more critically, the ability to maintain his work rate through 12 rounds. I’m sure his conditioning is as on-point as it can be, but he’s still a 40-year-old man who weighs nearly 300 pounds.  
  
But whoops! Zinad gets too brave and Bivol sits him down with a right hand as Zinad got caught square inside. Bivol steps in with a jab then a 2, 3 that floored Zinad. He seems OK though and he’s up and jabbing again. Zinad had an excellent round, and yet still got dropped. That probably doesn’t bode well for him.  
  
Round 1: As expected, the 5-2 ball is super-aggressive from the start. Ford, a sharp-shooting southpaw, finds a home for the left hand to the body. A couple of nice attacks from the challenger, but he can't penetrate the guard. Body again and a quick combination from Ford.  
  
Repeated heavy shots from Zhang caused swelling above joe joyce post fight's right eye causing the fight to be stopped following an inspection by ringside doctor after the 6th round, giving Zhang a technical knockout victory.  
  
"Of course, that's a great fight and facing the winner will be great," he said. "I think all of us prospects, you have a few who are considered the best like Fury, Usyk, Joshua, but all the rest of us we need to fight each other to get the best to get the chance to fight for a world title.  
  
Joshua floored Zhang and defeated him en route to capturing an Olympic gold medal at the London Games. Zhang, the reigning silver medallist from four years earlier, had his Olympic dream ended by Joshua's fists and wants revenge.  
  
In 2015, Zhang was signed to Roc Nation Sports, which Dino Duva also joined as an employee and boxing executive. Roc Nation, a music promoter, entered the boxing market in August 2014 with money but no plan. David Itskowitch, Roc Nation's founding chief operating officer of boxing, abruptly resigned in July 2016 and Duva's influence grew after. Roc Nation's boxing division was in quick decline from 2018, all but ceased working in 2019 and closed down in 2020.  
  
"Going back to the history of boxing in China, it’s still a young sport. It only has a history of about 30 years; China started boxing in the eighties. So, in this short time, we have Olympic gold medallists, World Amateur gold medallists, professional world champions. I think boxing is on a fast track in China and our people are definitely following it now. It’s a young sport in China; it’s like a baby in the camp."  
  
In September, Zhang returned to China for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerned that no one would recognize him, Li hired a dozen actors to greet him. When Zhang exited the Hangzhou Railway Station, hundreds of fans were waiting for him. "No one was paying attention to me when I first turned pro," says Zhang. "But with my recent fights and the recent noise I’m making, it’s significant. The recognition of boxing in China now is tremendous."  
  
In his pro debut on August 8, 2014, the original opponent dropped out out a week before the bout. Zhang knocked out his replacement, Curtis Tate, in the opening 17 seconds of round one. Roc Nation's boxing division was so quiet in 2019 that Zhang's last match under Roc Nation on November 30 that year with Andriy Rudenko was in fact promoted by Matchroom Sport USA, which went on to sign Zhang the next year. The fight had originally been scheduled for November 2018 by Matchroom Sport but Zhang missed out because of visa problems.  
  
When he moved to the United States on March 8, 2014, he had to manage and self-finance aspects of his life which had previously been handled by the Henan Provincial Combat and Weightlifting Center. Cooking for himself was the biggest challenge of his early days in the US. In his first few months as a professional, he spent more time learning how to properly cook noodles than he did working in the ring.  
  
The short answer to what a heavyweight boxer eats is, well, everything. Steak, chicken, different kinds of fish. During a recent visit to Jiang Nan, a Chinese-fusion joint Zhang frequents in Montclair, N.J., a plate filled with flat, oval-shaped meat arrives at the table. George slides a piece between a pair of chopsticks and asks Zhang to identify it. He always asks. In China, George was often offered food he couldn’t identify. Horse. Bull penis. Snake blood. "Cow tongue," says Zhang. The chopsticks drop. "Nope," says George. "Not eating that."  
  
But it's hard to believe we'll see the older Wilder after he looked wholly uninspired in the unanimous decision loss to Parker in December. It seems more likely that Zhang beats away at Wilder for 12 and "The Bronze Bomber" is unable to respond with a shot that backs him up.  
  
With Zhang just pawing away at him, Parker continued to launch a series of hard right hands and then ducking to avoid at the few punches coming back at him. That all changed in the eighth round when Zhang plodded forward and he stepped into an exchange with a right hand that bounced off the side of Parker’s head and sent him down to a knee.