Zhang vs. Joyce: Big Fight Preview

Zhang vs. Joyce: Big Fight Preview

By Matt Elliott

Joe Joyce will be looking to get his world title ambitions back on track this Saturday when he rematches Zhilei Zhang at the OVO Arena in Wembley, aiming to regain the WBO interim heavyweight title, and with it, a direct route to a future showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.

It was back in April that Joyce suffered defeat at the hands of Zhang, whose pinpoint accuracy with the left-handed jab left Joyce with a swollen right eye that was virtually closed when the intervention of the ringside doctor led to the contest being stopped in round six. In defeat, Joyce not only lost his first professional fight, but he was leapfrogged by Zhang in the queue for a world title shot. Thankfully, due to the contract negotiations of Queensberry, Joyce had a rematch clause that he duly exercised, leading to a chance at redemption.

At the time, the defeat for Joyce was a shock, but perhaps on reflection, it was an inevitability. Joyce had built a reputation, over his short professional career, in being able to repel whatever his opponents threw at him, even leading to suggestions that his bone density is six times that of a normal human being, offering, in part, some sort of explanation as to how he has been able to absorb a high level of punishment without so much as flinching. In his previous fifteen outings, you could almost predict the narrative. Joyce’s limited footwork and lack of head movement would see him take a lot of shots, the type of punches that would trouble the majority of fighters operating at heavyweight, but they would simply bounce off him, and eventually his power and accuracy would see him wear his opponent down. This had been the case in his two preceding fights with Joseph Parker and Christian Hammer, where both men had moments of success, but ultimately could not find a way to inflict sufficient damage to turn the fight in their favour. When Zhang rolled into town, many people expected the same outcome.

Zhang, though, was enjoying a late resurgence in his career. He had suffered his first professional defeat in his last fight, losing a narrow points decision to the much-hyped Filip Hrogovic, despite many people feeling he had done enough to win the contest. Whilst he lost the decision, he garnered a lot of public support from his showing and was seen as a good step-up for Joyce and, as a southpaw, good practice for a fight with Usyk.

On the night, the known weaknesses of Joyce were laid bare again, only this time he was unable to get away with them. From round one, Zhang set his stall out, using the left jab to perfection and landing, almost without fail, every time he threw it. The accuracy and directness of that shot were such that Joyce’s eye quickly began to swell, and even by round three, it was closing up. This led to an increased urgency from Joyce, presumably in the knowledge that he knew he could not reach the end of the fight with the condition in which he found himself. Zhang started at a fast pace and, like in his fight with Hrgovic, he tired as the rounds progressed, but ultimately, this fatigue did not set in quickly enough for Joyce. When the referee halted the contest, there was enough to suggest that Joyce was getting on top, but with the severity of the eye injury, it was a case of too little, too late.

As we head into the rematch, Joyce can take enough optimism from the first fight to feel he can overcome Zhang, but he must be disciplined in his approach. Starting quickly and looking to walk down Zhang is unlikely to prove successful, as he will leave himself open to the counter and, whilst a direct repeat of the eye injury is unlikely, he cannot afford to take that risk; he needs to frustrate Zhang early on and wait for his opportunity. Joyce is physically fitter, and assuming he enters the ring in his usual condition, he should be able to get the better of Zhang as the fight enters the later rounds. For me, that should be his game plan. Adopt a more defensive approach during the early rounds, bide his time, and then open up and take more risks as the fight enters the second half. If he can do that, I feel he has every chance at victory, but it will mean a complete overhaul to his usual approach and whether he can do that remains to be seen.

Elsewhere, Anthony Yarde returns to action for the first time since January’s defeat to Artur Beterbiev as he takes on Jorge Silva. Yarde impressed in that fight before Beterbiev’s power stopped the contest in round eight, and he will be hoping to learn from the experience and once again propel himself into the world title picture. Pierce O’Leary looks to move to 13-0 as he faces Kane Gardner, in arguably the pick of the undercard bouts, whilst Zach Parker, who hasn’t featured since last November when injury cut short his fight with John Ryder, returns against Khalid Graidia. Moses Itauma continues his progression at heavyweight with his fifth outing of the year.   

Zhang vs. Joyce II Weights: 

The WBO interim Heavyweight World Championship 12 x 3 Minute Rounds
Zhilei Zhang 287.2lbs
Joe Joyce 281.2lbs

The WBC International Super-Lightweight Championship 10 x 3 Minute Rounds
Pierce O’Leary 139.3lbs
Kane Gardner 139.6lbs

10 x 3 Minute Rounds International Light-Heavyweight Contest
Anthony Yarde 177.9lbs
Jorge Silva 178lbs

10 x 3 Minute Rounds International Super-Middleweight Contest
Zach Parker 170.9lbs
Khalid Graidia 168lbs

6 x 3 Minute Rounds International Heavyweight Contest
Moses Itauma 237.9lbs
Amine Boucetta 296lbs

8 X 3 Minutes Rounds Light-Heavyweight Contest
Ezra Taylor 176lbs
Joel McIntrye 178.2lbs

6 X 3 Minute Rounds International Super-Featherweight Contest
Royston Barney-Smith 131.6
Engel Gomez 132lbs

6 X 3 Minute Rounds International Cruiserweight Contest
Aloys Jr 203.1lbs
Eric Nazarayan 203.7lbs

6 X 3 Minute Rounds International Cruiserweight Contest
Tommy Fletcher 199.2lbs
Alberto Tapia 197.5lbs

6 X 3 Minute Rounds International Welterweight Contest
Sean Noakes 151.7lbs
Lukasz Barabasz 154lbs