Chinese boxer Zhang Zhilei will fight the WBO interim heavyweight champion, Joe Joyce of Britain, at the Copper Box Arena in London, Britain, on Saturday. In an interview with Xinhua News Agency on Monday, Zhang said his goal is to open up a field for Chinese boxers.

"My goal is to open up a field for Chinese boxers and add our names to the heavyweight competitions," Zhang said.

Zhang, who turns 40 in May, became a professional boxer in 2014. Prior to that, he had secured the men's super heavyweight silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Four years later, he lost in the quarterfinals of the London Games.

"It's not an easy trip here, but I feel like I'm getting closer to my dream," Zhang told Xinhua. "My dream is to win the world championship, the title belt."

If Zhang beats Joyce in Saturday's bout, he will become the mandatory challenger to the WBO heavyweight belt holder, Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine, who may fight the WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury this year.

"We are both Olympic silver medalists and share basically the same age, weight and height. I think it will be a good bout," Zhang told Xinhua. He also disagreed with the remarks of Joyce being a slow boxer. "There is no such thing in a heavyweight fight because all it takes is either one punch or one combo to knock someone down. That's how powerful our punches are," Zhang added.

Zhang has been training and fighting in the U.S. for most of the time since he turned professional in 2014. "Training is my daily life because I may have been doing it in 10 of the 12 months every year," Zhang said. "Whenever there is a fight, I will go to practice with a sparring partner for two to three months in a training camp."

Zhang revealed that his coach would put him on a break after a fight, but he often finished it much sooner than the coach expected. "I usually call the coach in a week to tell them I'm ready to go back to the gym."

Though his coach was often surprised at Zhang's quick return, Zhang said he wants to spend as much time as possible training and fighting. "I can't afford to miss any time," he told Xinhua.