He literally did not and never does. Stop. He had a defining moment in TB because he's an amazing character with respect to the stories themes. That was a signficant turning point for Zoro and it still defines his dedication to Luffy. But thats what it is, DEDICATION TO LUFFY.
And Oda loves Luffy more than any other character, quite marred by the fact on how much he dedicates 10s of chapters to his fights over anyone else's.
I'm a zoro fan through and through, but you blind fanboys need to learn when to give up. Its been 14 years since that TB moment with Kuma.