Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang

Joe Joyce vs. Zhilei Zhang was a professional boxing match contested on for the WBO interim heavyweight title.[1][2]

Joe Joyce vs. Zhilei Zhang
Date15 April 2023
VenueCopper Box Arena, Hackney Wick, London, UK
Title(s) on the lineWBO interim heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Joe Joyce Zhilei Zhang
Nickname "Juggernaut" "Big Bang"
Hometown London, England UK Zhoukou, Henan, China
Pre-fight record 15–0 (14 KOs) 24–1–1 (19 KOs)
Age 37 years, 6 months 39 years, 11 months
Height 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight 255.7 lb (116 kg) 271.6 lb (123 kg)
Style Orthodox Southpaw
Recognition WBO
Interim Heavyweight Champion
TBRB
No. 2 Ranked Heavyweight
The Ring
No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight		 WBO
No. 13 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Zhang defeated Joyce Via Round 6 TKO.

Background

Joe Joyce won the WBO Interim World Heavyweight title in a September 2022 bout against Joseph Parker.[1] Zhang's last bout before facing Joyce was in August 2022 when he suffered his first loss to Croatian Filip Hrgović, after a close-fought battle where he lost by unanimous decision in what was described as a "generous" decision by broadcaster Sky Sports after a "bizarre" performance by Hrgović.[3][4][1]

The bout was held at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 15 April 2023.[1][2][5]

The fight

Repeated heavy shots from Zhang caused swelling above Joyce's right eye causing the fight to be stopped following an inspection by ringside doctor after the 6th round,[6] giving Zhang a technical knockout victory.[7] [8]

Aftermath

Following Zhang's victory, reports stated that a bout between himself and Tyson Fury were being discussed.[9] On 29 June an immediate rematch was announced for 23 September at Wembley Arena in London, England for the same title.[10] Tyson Fury took to social media to offer Joyce sparring following the announcement.[11]

Fight card

Source:[12][13]

Weight Class vs. Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Zhilei Zhang def. Joe Joyce (c) TKO 6/12 1:23 Note 1
Lightweight Mikaela Mayer def. Lucy Wildheart UD 10 Note 2
Heavyweight Moses Itauma def. Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko UD 6
Lightweight Sam Noakes (c) def. Karthik Sathish TKO 2/12 1:17 Note 3
Middleweight Denzel Bentley def. Kieran Smith KO 1/12 0:45 Note 4
Welterweight Eithan James def. Georgi Velichkov PTS 6
Super-lightweight Sonny Ali def. Richard Helm PTS 6
Light-heavyweight Seth Gyimah def. Darryl Sharp PTS 4
Middleweight Joel Kodua def. Dale Arrowsmith PTS 4

^Note 1 For WBO interim heavyweight title
^Note 2 For vacant WBC interim lightweight title
^Note 3 For Commonwealth Boxing Council and WBC International Silver lightweight titles
^Note 4 For British middleweight title

Broadcasting
Country Broadcaster
 United KingdomBT Sport
 United StatesESPN+

References
  1. "The Juggernaut returns: WBO interim champ Joyce faces Zhang on April 15". BT.com.
  2. "'I heat up my opponents...' - Joe Joyce engages in hilariously awkward trash-talk". 3 February 2023.
  3. "Filip Hrgovic gets peculiar win and earns shot at Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua winner". talkSPORT. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  4. "Usyk vs AJ 2: Filip Hrgovic claims unanimous decision win over Zhilei Zhang in thrilling IBF heavyweight eliminator". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  5. "Joe Joyce to fight Zhilei Zhang as Briton takes next step towards world title". The Independent. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  6. Mantej Mann (15 April 2023). "'I apologise to my fans' - Relive Joyce's first loss". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. Sajad, Kal (15 April 2023). "Joe Joyce v Zhilei Zhang: British heavyweight suffers first career loss in shock defeat". BBC.
  8. Cameron Hogwood (16 April 2023). "Joe Joyce suffers stunning defeat to Zhilei Zhang in huge blow to world title hopes". skysports.com. Copper Box Arena, London: Sky Sports. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  9. "Tyson Fury could be offered lucrative fight against Zhilei Zhang who is now 'a superstar in China'". Sky Sports. 22 April 2023.
  10. "Joe Joyce to rematch Zhilei Zhang on September 23 following first professional defeat". Sky Sports. 29 June 2023.
  11. Ferguson, Kerr (30 June 2023). "Tyson Fury Offers Joe Joyce The 'Secret' To Beat Zhang For A Hefty Price". Boxing Social.
  12. "Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang: Date, venue, titles, tickets and pro records for boxing showdown". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  13. "BoxRec - event".
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