Joe Joyce was seen laughing backstage with Zhilei Zhang on Saturday night after being knocked out by the Chinese heavyweight in their rematch.
Zhang landed a devastating right hook on Joyce that ended the fight in the third rounding, meaning he remains the WBO interim champion.
The 40-year-old asked the Wembley crowd ‘Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?’ after his win, although the WBO title for which he is now mandatory challenger is held by Oleksandr Usyk.
Despite talking through a translator, Zhang and Joyce appeared to be on good terms after the fight as they shared a laugh and hugged backstage.
They appeared to be discussing China, as the Juggernaut brought laughs from everyone in the room by telling his opponent ‘I’ve been to your ends’.
Zhilei Zhang beat Joe Joyce by third round knockout in their rematch on Saturday night
The two fighters shared a laugh backstage after the bout as Joyce told Zhang ‘I’ve been to your ends’
They embraced after the bout, which saw Zhang retain the WBO interim title he won from Joyce in their first bout
After the bout, Zhang claimed he was happy with the win before turning his attention to his possible future opponents.
‘I’m happy,’ he said to TNT Sports. ‘Like I said before the fight, it’s going to end sooner than the first one. Joe, I like him, I respect him and I will let everyone witness Chinese power again.’
‘This is what we’re here for, we’re professional fighters. We came to entertain the crowd and we did it. I hope everyone enjoyed my performance.
‘Thank you to everyone who came here today and witnessed my greatness in front of Chinese social media.’
Speaking about his performance to talkSPORT, Zhang added: ‘Very happy because everybody recognised me today.’
When asked if it was the best finish of his career, Zhang replied, ‘Yes, but I have to thank Joe Joyce for giving me this opportunity.
‘I just want to shut Tyson Fury up. He talks too much. We’re boxers. We fight we don’t talk. Tyson Fury talks too much.’
The Chinese fighter (right) delivered a devastating right hook to knock out Joyce (left) in the third round
He called out Tyson Fury, who is due to fight UFC star Francis Ngannou next month, after the win
Fury is due to fight UFC star Francis Ngannou in his next bout on October 28 and could face Usyk in a unification bout later this year.
Speaking on what he’d do to Anthony Joshua in the ring, Zhang said: ‘The same thing. They’re all going to go to sleep.’
For Joyce, the loss effectively ends his chances of challenging Usyk or Fury for a heavyweight belt.
He was unbeaten before his first clash with Zhang, but at 38 may struggle to attract similarly high-profile bouts in the future.