WBO heavyweight interim champion Zhilei Zhang had another strong showing in his rematch with Joe Joyce, this time managing to knock out the British heavyweight as opposed to his previous stoppage win when they first fought in April. The main event between Zhang and Joyce was held at the Wembley Arena in London, on September 23rd.
Both fighters’ previous bouts had also been against been against each other, but ended in a win for Zhilei Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KO’s) when he stopped Joe Joyce (15-2, 14 KO’s) in the sixth round on 15th of April. As a result, the WBO interim heavyweight title that had previously belonged to Joyce switched hands to Zhang following their first match
Last Saturday’s match seemed but a mere continuation of the momentum Zhang had built up prior, and Joyce suffered a thorough beatdown that may have dealt a fatal blow to his career. Zhang defended his WBO interim title for the first time since winning it against Joyce in April.
The first round between the Chinese heavyweight champion Zhang and the former WBO interim champion Joyce contained nothing spectacular as both fighters felt each other out.
However, this changed swiftly in the second round. Zhang clearly had Joyce’s number in the second, catching the Brit with some heavy and fast accurate punches that saw Joyce barely hold on at the end of the round.
But it was the third round which sealed the match completely in Zhang’s favor. Joyce was unable to stop the onslaught of Zhang’s punches, similar to their first match, and Zhang’s power went uncontained as he landed some devastating punches that had Joyce in trouble.
Joyce’s lack of defense and inability to defend on the backfoot did not help matters in the third round as Zhang pressured the Brit with the clear intention to stop or knock him out. With no head movement or even defensive techniques he could apply, Joyce was vulnerable to Zhang’s combinations and by nearly the end of the round, he was dropped by a right hook from the Chinese heavyweight, squarely on the chin.
Joyce fell face forward immediately, and though he managed to get up, he failed to beat the count of ten tat the referee initiated and Zhang was ruled the winner by knockout after the referee waved the match off.
It was a thoroughly underwhelming performance for the 38-year old Joe Joyce, worse than even his first match with Zhilei Zhang. The 40-year old Chinese heavyweight did not come in with a different gameplan as opposed to his first match with Joyce, and Zhang continued his effective style of pressuring and counterpunching when needed.
Zhang’s power seemed to be the more debilitating factor in this regard, despite Joyce having gained approximately 25 pounds as opposed to when he last fought Zhang. With no focus on defense of any kind, Joyce has had a notable career where he seemed to get away with these deficiencies due to the strong chin he possessed.
However, as evident by Joyce’s fights with Zhang, particularly the most recent one, his chin resistance no longer seems to be as it was, and resulted in the straight knockout he suffered.
Joyce’s offense was noticeably also not on par with Zhang’s. Though Zhang has reached the age of 40, his punches were quicker, stronger and more accurate than Joyce, and the Brit was not capable of stopping Zhang’s onslaught at any point during their short match.
It was another statement win for Zhilei Zhang, however, one that should surely have him be considered a top 5 heavyweight. His WBO interim title gives him a potential shot at unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KO’s), but the Chinese heavyweight has already declared interest in fighting the division’s other champion, WBC champion Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KO’s).
“The audience, I want to ask them a question; do you want me to see beat Tyson Fury up?” Zhang declared on the mic in the in-ring post-match interview, after being posed the question on whether he’d face the WBC heavyweight champion next.
Though the British crowd did not fully seem enthused with the idea of Zhang fighting Fury judging by their response, Zhang is currently signed to Queensberry Promotions; the same promotion Tyson Fury is signed to. This makes the fight easier to make, as opposed to other fights Zhang could be involved with against other fellow top heavyweights.
His two consecutive victories over Joe Joyce, along with his WBO interim title, provide Zhilei Zhang with new opportunities to face different and more renowned opponents, after a lengthy pro career where he has notoriously had trouble finding the right opponents to get him to world title opportunities.
Though Fury has previously already stated not to have any interest in the other top heavyweights, the possibility of him fighting Zhang are not impossible given the Chinese heavyweight’s stature has grown to allow Fury to make more money with Zhang than he would have in the past. If money is indeed the incentive, as Fury has stated, a fight with Zhang is likely to be lucrative enough for the Brit to reconsider his stance on not fighting other top heavyweights.
The rest of the card featured light-heavyweight British contender Anthony Yarde (24-3, 23 KO’s) as the headlining the co-main event together with Portuguese light-heavyweight journeyman Jorge Silva (22-9, 12 KO’s). It was Yarde’s first match since his defeat to Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KO’s) in late January of this year, and he quickly dispatched Silva by knockout in a matter of two rounds.
British super middleweight contender Zach Parker (23-1, 17 KO’s) made a return following his loss to John Ryder (32-6, 18 KO’s) in November of last year, and managed to stop French journeyman Khalid Graidia (10-13-4, 2 KO’s) in a matter of seven rounds, in a match originally set for ten.
British heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma (5-0, 3 KO’s) was also featured on the undercard, and notched another win on his journey to break the record of being the youngest heavyweight world champion. His opponent, Belgium journeyman Amine Boucetta (7-9, 0 KO’s) – who noticeably had a losing record prior to facing Itauma – lost expectedly in the first round of the match, after suffering the first-ever knockdown of his career shortly before being stopped by the British prospect.
