Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang full fight results
BBN are keeping fight fans up to date with round by round results from tonight's action at the Copper Box Arena, kicking off from 5pm on YouTube, followed by live coverage on BT Sport from 7pm to midnight as heavyweights 'Juggernaut' Joe Joyce (15-0, 14KO) and 'Big Bang' Zhilei Zhang (24-1-1, 19KO) collide for the WBO Interim title.
Joyce-Zhang full results below:Undercard from 5pm
Joel Kodua vs Dale Arrowsmith
4×3 Super-welterweight contest
26 from Dagenham, 'JFK' got a bit too greedy in the first couple of minutes and copped a big shot back from 'The Choirboy' Arrowsmith. Nothing too heavy for concern, but it was noted by the pundits that he can't stay there for too long and do anything silly.
28 from Hyde, Arrowsmith has only been stopped six times from 84 bouts, so you know you're in there for a few rounds. Joel lands a nice uppercut on the inside but he's not putting much weight behind his shots.
Kodua opens up more in the third, quite bust fight so far. The pair are exchanging nicely in the cente of the ring. It's not an explosive fight but it's entertaining. Kodua really warmed up in the third and it opened up nicely. All three rounds to Kodua so far. Looking comfortable here.
Kodua walking Arrowsmith down now that he's in his rhythm and the journeyman is on his bike now. Referee calls it 40-36 to Joel Kodua to go 2-0.
Seth Gyimah vs Darryl Sharp
4×3 Light-heavyweight contest
Introduced as 'Freezy Macbones', Brixton-based slugger is looking for a knockout but Darryl Sharp is seasoned and only been stopped three times in 112 bouts, one of those was world title contender Liam Williams. He's landing some big shits here though. Gyimah lands a big right to the body on the bell of the second.
Not only is Sharp a tough southpaw, he's also a former Central Area champion, and he's able to negate an aggressive home fighter here. On YouTube, Freezy has been called the next Mike Tyson, which is a bit ambitious but you can see that he's very aggressive and only wants to win by knockkout.
40-36 to Freezy Macbones.
Sonny Ali vs Richard Helm
6×3 Welterweight contest
Sonny sharp on his speedy jab from distance in the opener.
Rochdale's Helm is busy, throwing lots, but Ali is slipping nicely on the backfoot.
National amateur champion Sonny Liston Ali signed with Queensberry Promotions in July 2021 along with Welling's unbeaten southpaw Jake Henty.
Interestingly, his name has nothing to do with the heavyweight legends, “I am called Sonny after my Grandad, who has that name, and Ali is my Dad’s surname because his family several generations back were from Bangladesh. It was my Mum who added the name Liston so obviously everyone must think it is after the Heavyweight rivalry in the 1960s.”
As an amateur, he won ttwo National Schoolboy titles, two Three Nations championships and a hat-trick of wins at the prestigious Swedish Box Cup.
Helm, on BoxRec, has another four fights scheduled in over the next couple of months against unbeaten prospects with a combined total of around 22-0, meaning the 36-year-old in in big demand from promoters around the country. He will not want to get stopped here tonight!
Ali opening up in the sixth, sensing a stoppage, big shots going in, but Helm throwing back. Ali is so composed and skillful. Easy six rounds for the Romford slickster, still only 24.
Referee Kieran McCann scores the bout 60-54.
BT Sport 1 from 7pm
Eithan James vs Georgi Velichkov
8×3 Welterweight contest
Taller, rangier James boxing nicely from distance. James putting his punches together with more venom as the rounds go on.
Lots of straight shots and good movement from James, but his opponent is not great. He should be walking him down and getting more success.
Southpaw James putting combinations together in the fifth.
James teeing off in the sixth but ends in a comfortable points win. Good six rounds in the bank for James, he wins 60-54.
David Bentley vs Kieran Smith
12×3 British middleweight title
Bentley lands one big shot and wins within a minute! Left hook started it off, Smith backed off, then a straight right hand to the body, a missed left hook, then a right hook to the head and Smith was down and out. Incredible! 45 seconds of round one, Bentley wins and retains his Lonsdale title within 45 seconds! No reflection on Smith, who is a credible opponent but Bentley just caught his man cold. Breathtaking performance!
Bentley said he was happy to let him throw first then when he landed the big left hook, saw he was hurt and took him out. Then world title contender Bentley said he wants to be a world champion bad! He also called for the fight with Hamzah Sheeraz for the Commonwealth title. 18 wins, 15 KOs!!
Sam Noakes vs Karthik Sathish Kumar
12×3 Commonwealth & WBC International Silver lightweight title
Someones 'O' has got go, both fighters at 10-0 here. Kumar is the reigning WBC Asian Silver lightweight champion.
Maidstone's Noakes is so compact and landing big right hooks early on. Noakes lands a big right hand seconds before the bell. Kumar has got no chance here but survives the bell.
Kumar gets trapped in the corner and referee John Latham stops the fight. There was one big right hand that Kumar, but he didn't go down but it was enough to say no more.
Sam said he's enjoying the journey but he'd like to challenge for the British by the end of the years and his trainer Al Smith concurred.
Moses Itauma vs Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko
6×3 Heavyweight contest
Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko not been stopped in 22 bouts, and he takes Moses past the first round.
Moses working his jab but switching up to the body in round two. Moses boxing nice on the backfoot as well. Dovbyshchenko showing ff clling the fight on, but itauma boxing nicely on the outside.
Itauma is cruising but what's impessive is that every other punch goes into the body.
Itauma just playing in the fifth. But he knows he's in with someone who isn't going to fall over.
Moses showboated in the sixth but he got some good, valuable rounds against a durable opponent here tonight.
60-54 to Moses.
Co-Main Event
Mikaela Mayer vs Lucy Wildheart
10×2 Vacant WBC Interim lightweight title
Mayer sharp on her jab in the opening, trying to land the right hand.
Mayer stepping closer in second. The pair are squaring off in the middle but Mayer getting the better of the exchanges.
Mayer turns it on with a nice right to the body at the end of the fourth.
Mayer loading up in the fifth, then coming really strong in the sixth, drawing blood.
Mayer's jab is great, but Wildheart is there all the time. Game opponent but Mayer is a step ahead.
Wildheart warned for her use of head in the eighth.
Close fight but Mayer bigger and stronger all the way through.
Fantastic final round! Mayer's left hook couldn't miss but Wildheart was great all the way through. The Swede gave a great account of herself as a last minute opponent. Very nip and tuck fight but Mayer always on top.
Official result, 98-92, 100-90, 98-91 to Mayer.
Main Event
Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang
12×3 WBO Interim heavyweight title
Big shots early from Zhang, dominant round from him in the first.
Joyce on unsteady legs in the second off the back off a big back hand bomb from Zhang which we have never seen before! The Juggernaut is wobbling! He tries to up the volumne to finish the round with but he was all over the place there.
Joyce relentless in the third but continues to keep eating that backhand left from Zhang, which looks thudding and hurtful.
Joyce is rallying but he looks even slower and more laboured than usual. Big shots from Zhang at the end of the fourth.
The fifth round might be the first round Joyce has won, but he is badly marked up under the right eye, cut and bleeding. His face is badly marked up despite slipping a few of Zhang's shots for the first time in the fight.
Referee Howard Foster asked the ringside doctor to inspect Joyce's badly swollen right eye at the start of the sixth and is allowed to continue. Midway through the round, the doctor was called upon again and Foster said no more this time, registered at 1:23 of the sixth round. Joyce's eye is completely shut closed and cannot continue safely. Zhilei Zhang wins!
Joyce said afterwards that he kept getting hit from the left hand and that he was sorry to his fans but that he will be back. George Warren admitted that he got hit with too many shots but they will make the rematch, possibly in China.
Zhang's backhand left could not miss and won him the fight.
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