Olympic silver medallists Zhang and Joyce fight again on September 23
Last April, Chinese visitor Zhilei Zhang (25-1-1, 20KO) was able to upset unbeaten WBO Interim World heavyweight champion Joe Joyce (15-1, 14KO) in his own backyard in London.
Zhoukou’s Zhang, who trains in New Jersey, America, surprised everyone by dominating from the very first bell, landing big shots early on, forcing the undefeated home fighter backwards until he had him seriously wobbling and backpedalling in round two.
The southpaw’s backhand left was so deftly accurate that it completely closed the right eye of Joyce who was forced to retire at 1:23 of the sixth stanza on the ringside doctor’s advice.
The 37-year-old Putney puncher tried to rally back in rounds three onwards, but a lot of facial damage had already been done, so it was an uphill struggle. ‘The Juggernaut’ tried to step in closer to no longer be a sitting duck at long range, where he was getting picked off cleanly, and he made some of the rounds competitive, but a few more big shots on the button and he was unable to see or continue safely.
Southpaw Zhang was just too fast, powerful and accurate for Joyce, whose head was a static target for the full 16 and a half minutes.
Both heavyweights were Olympic silver medallists in their amateur careers – Zhang winning his at Beijing 2008 and Joyce claimed his at London 2012. Zhang was also present at the London Games, but the eventual winner, Anthony Joshua, beat him in the quarter-finals.
40-year-old Zhang has two blemishes on his record, which includes a draw to tough contender Jerry Forrest in February 2021 and a narrow points loss to undefeated Croatian Filip Hrgovic in August 2022.
In both contests, Zhang was unfortunate not to come away with more. His stalemate with Forrest saw him score knockdowns early after a bright start but he faded badly and was lucky to make it to the final bell. He was taken straight to hospital after the fight where he was treated for severe dehydration. During his week confined to his room in ‘The Bubble’, he suffered from weight loss when his intake of food and drink was reduced due to the COVID restrictions at the time.
In August 2022, he suffered his one and only professional career defeat at the hands of IBF #1 Filip Hrgovic. The Croatian won a tight fight via unanimous decision, but some spectators had the Chinese man winning, especially with a first-round knockdown in his favour.
37-year-old Joyce has won prestigious titles with the WBC (Silver), WBA (Gold) and WBO (Interim). He was mandatory contender for Oleksandr Usyk, but had t wait his turn for a shot, which is now pending the result of his rematch.
The ‘Energiser Bunny’ has always been known for his durability and endurance, able to walk through fire to bring the heat himself. He sets a high pace and doesn’t stop throwing shots, and his power is felt as an accumulation over many hard painful rounds.
Zhang has an 80% KO ratio, compared to Joyce’s fearsome 93%, but appears to hit harder; his forceful, fast shots are more thudding and weighty, whereas Joyce’s are incessant and cumulative.
Joyce’s style has gotten him this far, but he has always had his limitations, most notably his lack of head movement and rigidity. He was able to withstand Daniel Dubois’ power, who couldn’t take his back, but has Zhang exposed Joyce’s weaknesses for all to see? It now appears he isn’t able to just walk through anything and a few rounds of hard, pinpoint punches can stop him in his tracks.
So could this be the beginning of the end of ‘The Juggernaut’s’ journey, or will we see another credible comeback like Chris Eubank Jr put on against Liam Smith in their highly anticipated rematch? After Eubank took his evenge on Smith, he said these words: “I had no choice”, which is the same for Joyce. It’s a fight he simply can’t afford to lose so he has to make adjustments and improvements, but Zhang only has to be same – fast, powerful and dominating.
Predictions
For me, I think we will the same Zhilei Zhang from the first fight, but with the added confidence of being the conqueror and defending champion. He was so composed and assured as the away fighter last April, I can only see that amplified even further in fight two, returning to a country he has already won in. Plus, he will enter the ring with all that data he downloaded from already. He knows what shots will be successful – when to throw that backhand left, particularly.
Joyce will surely arrive improved, but just how much can the 37-year-old learn at this advanced stage in his career? He needs to bring head movement, first of all, but can he add that to his game now? If so, why didn’t he add it before? His dome was stuck on the firing line and was absorbing such heavy shots; he’s known for his durability, but there’s only so much you can take from a 280lbs machine!
I can’t see him moving his head that much more in the rematch, but I do expect him to be busier, more commanding, taking the fight to Zhang and pressuring him to force him into an uncomfortably high pace where he could fade over rounds, because we have seen it before in his only 10 and 12-round contests. Joyce has to put it on him and bully him but avoid taken too much punishment in return. That game plan is going to take plenty of stamina, bravery and skill, however. But, like Eubank said, “he has no choice”.
Verdict
If Joyce can box the fight of his life, staying disciplined to the game plan, avoiding too much damage, then he could be the one to secure the stoppage, which could come early, mid or late. I think Zhang only scores a KO mid to late, not early.
My verdict is for Zhilei Zhang to weather an early storm from Joe Joyce during the opening rounds to go on to win by knockout in rounds 7-12.
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