LONDON
\nChina\u2019s Zhilei \u2018Big Bang\u2019 Zhang set his sights on Ukraine\u2019s heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk after dealing Britain\u2019s Joe Joyce a first professional defeat on Saturday.
\nReferee Howard Foster stopped the fight in the sixth of 12 scheduled rounds at London\u2019s Copper Box Arena after the ringside doctor had twice inspected Joyce\u2019s puffed up right eye, which was almost closed.
\n\u201cToday belongs to me…I\u2019m 39 years old, but I\u2019m disciplined, I train hard. Next step I\u2019m going for the title,\u201d Zhang said through a translator after punching the air and shouting \u2018Chinese Power\u2019.
\nTwo of the three judges had Zhang ahead at that point.
\nJoyce, 37, was the WBO \u2018interim\u2019 champion in the division \u2013 a title that effectively made him the WBO\u2019s mandatory challenger for WBO, IBO, IBF and WBA champion Usyk.
\nBritain\u2019s Tyson Fury holds the WBC title. Zhang and Joyce are both Olympic silver medallists, the Chinese as a super-heavyweight at home in Beijing in 2008 and the Briton in the same division in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
\nThe Chinese had his shorter and lighter opponent in trouble from early on, Joyce providing a static target for Zhang\u2019s booming left hand and providing plenty of work for his corner as cuts opened up.
\n\u201cI\u2019m just disappointed with my performance,\u201d Joyce told BT Sport after what was his 16th pro fight.
\n\u201cThe right hand he kept hitting me with. I couldn\u2019t get out of the way, so respect to Zhilei Zhang, Big Bang.
\n\u201cI haven\u2019t fought a southpaw for so long…I expected to win like I normally do. I\u2019ll be back. My journey\u2019s not over, this is just a hurdle I may have tripped over so I\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON China\u2019s Zhilei \u2018Big Bang\u2019 Zhang set his sights on Ukraine\u2019s heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk after dealing Britain\u2019s Joe Joyce a first professional defeat on Saturday. Referee Howard Foster stopped the fight in the sixth of 12 scheduled rounds at London\u2019s Copper Box Arena after the ringside doctor had twice inspected Joyce\u2019s puffed up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-326352","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n