Career
Dong initially started out in basketball and kickboxing, taking the ring name Taishan after the mountain of the same name. In February 2013, he floored Bob Sapp in a kickboxing fight held in Tokyo. Dong met with boxing promotor Liu Gang who persuaded him to take up professional boxing.
After arriving in America at the start of 2014 with ambitions to become a professional boxer, Dong met with attorney George Gallegos.
Gallegos, who would later become his manager, introduced him to boxing trainer John Bray. Dong did not understand English at the time and Bray was unable to speak Chinese but the pair bonded over their shared interest in boxing.
His next fight came in November, knocking out Tommy Washington Junior. (3-6-0) in just over two and a half first round minutes.
In February 2015, Dong defeated Rory McCrary (3-2-0) in a unanimous decision over four rounds.
Judges scored the fight 40-34, 40-34 and 39-35 in Dong"s favor. Dong"s height has seen him being promoted as the "Yao Ming of boxing". He is currently signed to Golden Boy Promotions and trains with Buddy McGirt.
Dong was offered a contract with Top Rank, who wanted to focus on expanding his reputation in Asia, but chose to sign with Golden Boy because they offered to develop him first in America.