Tag: Joe Joyce

Weekend Review: Zhilei Zhang has blossomed, Joe Joyce has wilted

Weekend Review: Zhilei Zhang has blossomed at 40 years old while Joe Joyce has wilted at 38.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER
Zhilei Zhang

Zhang didn’t come out of nowhere. The 40-year-old southpaw from China was a silver medalist in the 2008 Olympics and has been a consistent winner as a professional over the past decade. However, when he drew with limited Jerry Forrest in February 2021, he seemed to have hit his ceiling. Then, three fights later, he pushed rising contender Filip Hrgovic surprisingly hard last August to pump new life into his career as he approached 40. And now he has back-to-back knockout victories over once-top contender Joe Joyce, the latter a spectacular one-punch stoppage Saturday in Joyce’s hometown of London. Just like that he became a bona-fide contender for the titles of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Can he beat one of the champions? Probably not. His victories over Joyce were as much the result of Joyce’s limitations as Zhang’s ability. Fury and Usyk are a level above. At the same time Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) is exactly where he wants to be: He has earned the right to fight for a major world title, which is the goal of every prize fighter. He deserves a great deal of credit.

BIGGEST LOSER
Joe Joyce

Joe Joyce couldn’t recover from a brutal right hook.  Stephen Pond / Getty Images

Joyce, 38, said during the post-fight news conference that his decision to face Zhang in April was too big of a risk given that he was the WBO’s mandatory challenger to Usyk’s belt at the time. No it wasn’t. If Joyce was what he was supposed to be – a genuine threat to anyone – he should’ve defeated a fringe contender who drew with Forrest and lost to Hrgovic, southpaw stance or no southpaw stance. The fact is he isn’t what he was supposed to be. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist combined size and strength with some ability to win consistently against second-tier opposition to create an aura of formidability, perhaps peaking with a victory over past-his-best Joseph Parker last September. Then the peaking Zhang exposed his limitations – twice. Joyce is big and strong but he’s slow and his skills are solid at best, which isn’t good enough against the best in the division. Joyce mentioned former foe Daniel Dubois as a potential comeback opponent, which makes sense given that both are coming off KO losses. Retirement might be a better option if his goal remains to win a major title. That’s a long shot as things stand now.

RABBIT PUNCHES

Gifted 140-pound contender Richardson Hitchins’ victory over Jose Zepeda (37-4, 28 KOs) on Saturday night in Florida wasn’t thrilling but it was convincing. The 25-year-old New Yorker outclassed a rugged veteran in what was billed as his toughest test to date, winning a near shutout decision on national television. Good night’s work. Hitchins (17-0, 7 KOs) will be a difficult opponent for any of the top junior welterweights. … Conor Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) returned to the ring after 17 months away on the Hitchins-Zepeda card, defeating Rodolfo Orozco by a one-sided decision in a 10-round 154-pound fight. Benn shouldn’t have been allowed to fight, although it’s complicated. Benn tested positive for the banned substance clomifene ahead of his scheduled fight with Chris Eubank Jr. last fall, which led to his suspension. He was cleared by the U.K.’s National Anti-Doping Panel. However, that ruling was appealed by the British Boxing Board of Control and UK Anti-Doping, which seems to leave Benn’s case in limbo. Florida officials should’ve backed British officials. The top agencies must stick together to control cheating.

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Weekend Review: Zhilei Zhang has blossomed, Joe Joyce has wilted

Weekend Review: Zhilei Zhang has blossomed at 40 years old while Joe Joyce has wilted at 38.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER
Zhilei Zhang

Zhang didn’t come out of nowhere. The 40-year-old southpaw from China was a silver medalist in the 2008 Olympics and has been a consistent winner as a professional over the past decade. However, when he drew with limited Jerry Forrest in February 2021, he seemed to have hit his ceiling. Then, three fights later, he pushed rising contender Filip Hrgovic surprisingly hard last August to pump new life into his career as he approached 40. And now he has back-to-back knockout victories over once-top contender Joe Joyce, the latter a spectacular one-punch stoppage Saturday in Joyce’s hometown of London. Just like that he became a bona-fide contender for the titles of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Can he beat one of the champions? Probably not. His victories over Joyce were as much the result of Joyce’s limitations as Zhang’s ability. Fury and Usyk are a level above. At the same time Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) is exactly where he wants to be: He has earned the right to fight for a major world title, which is the goal of every prize fighter. He deserves a great deal of credit.

BIGGEST LOSER
Joe Joyce

Joe Joyce couldn’t recover from a brutal right hook.  Stephen Pond / Getty Images

Joyce, 38, said during the post-fight news conference that his decision to face Zhang in April was too big of a risk given that he was the WBO’s mandatory challenger to Usyk’s belt at the time. No it wasn’t. If Joyce was what he was supposed to be – a genuine threat to anyone – he should’ve defeated a fringe contender who drew with Forrest and lost to Hrgovic, southpaw stance or no southpaw stance. The fact is he isn’t what he was supposed to be. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist combined size and strength with some ability to win consistently against second-tier opposition to create an aura of formidability, perhaps peaking with a victory over past-his-best Joseph Parker last September. Then the peaking Zhang exposed his limitations – twice. Joyce is big and strong but he’s slow and his skills are solid at best, which isn’t good enough against the best in the division. Joyce mentioned former foe Daniel Dubois as a potential comeback opponent, which makes sense given that both are coming off KO losses. Retirement might be a better option if his goal remains to win a major title. That’s a long shot as things stand now.

RABBIT PUNCHES

Gifted 140-pound contender Richardson Hitchins’ victory over Jose Zepeda (37-4, 28 KOs) on Saturday night in Florida wasn’t thrilling but it was convincing. The 25-year-old New Yorker outclassed a rugged veteran in what was billed as his toughest test to date, winning a near shutout decision on national television. Good night’s work. Hitchins (17-0, 7 KOs) will be a difficult opponent for any of the top junior welterweights. … Conor Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) returned to the ring after 17 months away on the Hitchins-Zepeda card, defeating Rodolfo Orozco by a one-sided decision in a 10-round 154-pound fight. Benn shouldn’t have been allowed to fight, although it’s complicated. Benn tested positive for the banned substance clomifene ahead of his scheduled fight with Chris Eubank Jr. last fall, which led to his suspension. He was cleared by the U.K.’s National Anti-Doping Panel. However, that ruling was appealed by the British Boxing Board of Control and UK Anti-Doping, which seems to leave Benn’s case in limbo. Florida officials should’ve backed British officials. The top agencies must stick together to control cheating.

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Watch it: Zhilei Zhang’s spectacular third-round knockout of Joe Joyce

Zhilei Zhang’s sixth-round knockout of Joe Joyce in April certainly was no fluke. The Chinese heavyweight made that abundantly clear on Saturday in London, where he stopped the hometown fighter with a single right hand in the final seconds of the …

Zhilei Zhang’s sixth-round knockout of Joe Joyce in April certainly was no fluke.

The Chinese heavyweight made that abundantly clear on Saturday in London, where he stopped the hometown fighter with a single right hand in the final seconds of the third round of their rematch.

Check it out below.

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Watch it: Zhilei Zhang’s spectacular third-round knockout of Joe Joyce

Zhilei Zhang’s sixth-round knockout of Joe Joyce in April certainly was no fluke. The Chinese heavyweight made that abundantly clear on Saturday in London, where he stopped the hometown fighter with a single right hand in the final seconds of the …

Zhilei Zhang’s sixth-round knockout of Joe Joyce in April certainly was no fluke.

The Chinese heavyweight made that abundantly clear on Saturday in London, where he stopped the hometown fighter with a single right hand in the final seconds of the third round of their rematch.

Check it out below.

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Zhilei Zhang takes out Joe Joyce with one punch to prove he’s for real

Zhilei Zhang knocked out Joe Joyce with one punch in the third round to prove he’s an elite heavyweight contender.

Zhilei Zhang proved he’s an elite heavyweight. Joe Joyce might be finished.

Zhang knocked out Joyce with a single right hook in the final seconds of the third round of their rematch on Saturday night at OVO Arena Wembley in London.

The Chinese fighter had defeated his British counterpart by a technical knockout in April.

Joyce couldn’t avoid his southpaw opponent’s left hand in the first fight, which closed his right eye and left the referee no choice but to stop the fight in the sixth round.

He was somehwhat better prepared to deal with Zhang’s signature punch Saturday, keeping his right hand up and moving to the left, away from Zhang’s power.

One problem for Joyce was that he was too tentative. He did almost nothing offensively, which gave the more-confident Zhang no reason to take a backward step.

Zhang connected on a few good lefts early in Round 2 and then unloaded a series of hard, accurate shots late in the round, which gave viewers a taste of what was to come.

Moments before the bell to end Round 3, Zhang threw a left to the body. Joyce responding by initiating a right hand but he ran into a perfect right hook before he could unload it, which sent him crashing to the canvas.

Joyce moved from flat on his stomach, to all fours, to one knee and finally to his feet. However, referee Steve Gray, looking directly into Joyce’s eyes, didn’t like what he saw and stopped the fight then and there.

Just like that, Zhang (26-1, 21 KOs) had back-to-back knockouts over a top contender.

“I feel very happy,” he said immediately afterward through a translator. “Like I said before the fight, it’s gonna end sooner than the first fight. I did it!”

Zhang was defending the WBO’s “interim” title, which is meaningless other than the fact he’s first in line to challenge titleholder Oleksandr Usyk.

However, when he was asked who he would like to fight next, he didn’t mention the unified champion from Ukraine.

“I want to ask the audience,” he said, referring to the crowd at OVO Arena. “I want to ask a question: Do you want to see me shut up [WBC beltholder] Tyson Fury?”

Zhang will have to wait to see what the future holds but it’s clear that the 40-year-old has become a major player in the sport’s glamour division.

Joyce? How does he recover from this?

He had a chance to get things right after the first fight. Instead, he suffered a worse fate, a one-punch knockout that probably will knock him out of the rankings and further erode his reputation.

The silver medalist in the 2016 Olympics might never fight for a major title, let alone win one.

Zhilei Zhang takes out Joe Joyce with one punch to prove he’s for real

Zhilei Zhang knocked out Joe Joyce with one punch in the third round to prove he’s an elite heavyweight contender.

Zhilei Zhang proved he’s an elite heavyweight. Joe Joyce might be finished.

Zhang knocked out Joyce with a single right hook in the final seconds of the third round of their rematch on Saturday night at OVO Arena Wembley in London.

The Chinese fighter had defeated his British counterpart by a technical knockout in April.

Joyce couldn’t avoid his southpaw opponent’s left hand in the first fight, which closed his right eye and left the referee no choice but to stop the fight in the sixth round.

He was somehwhat better prepared to deal with Zhang’s signature punch Saturday, keeping his right hand up and moving to the left, away from Zhang’s power.

One problem for Joyce was that he was too tentative. He did almost nothing offensively, which gave the more-confident Zhang no reason to take a backward step.

Zhang connected on a few good lefts early in Round 2 and then unloaded a series of hard, accurate shots late in the round, which gave viewers a taste of what was to come.

Moments before the bell to end Round 3, Zhang threw a left to the body. Joyce responding by initiating a right hand but he ran into a perfect right hook before he could unload it, which sent him crashing to the canvas.

Joyce moved from flat on his stomach, to all fours, to one knee and finally to his feet. However, referee Steve Gray, looking directly into Joyce’s eyes, didn’t like what he saw and stopped the fight then and there.

Just like that, Zhang (26-1, 21 KOs) had back-to-back knockouts over a top contender.

“I feel very happy,” he said immediately afterward through a translator. “Like I said before the fight, it’s gonna end sooner than the first fight. I did it!”

Zhang was defending the WBO’s “interim” title, which is meaningless other than the fact he’s first in line to challenge titleholder Oleksandr Usyk.

However, when he was asked who he would like to fight next, he didn’t mention the unified champion from Ukraine.

“I want to ask the audience,” he said, referring to the crowd at OVO Arena. “I want to ask a question: Do you want to see me shut up [WBC beltholder] Tyson Fury?”

Zhang will have to wait to see what the future holds but it’s clear that the 40-year-old has become a major player in the sport’s glamour division.

Joyce? How does he recover from this?

He had a chance to get things right after the first fight. Instead, he suffered a worse fate, a one-punch knockout that probably will knock him out of the rankings and further erode his reputation.

The silver medalist in the 2016 Olympics might never fight for a major title, let alone win one.

Joe Joyce’s rematch with Zhilei Zhang is ‘make or break’ challenge

Joe Joyce’s rematch with Zhilei Zhang on Saturday night is a “make or break” challenge for the Londoner.

Is this do or die for Joe Joyce?

The Londoner was never a great technician or athlete but he was a competent boxer with unusual size and strength, which enabled him to win a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics and become a mandatory world title challenger as a professional.

Then, on April 15, disaster struck. Joyce couldn’t avoid the left hand of Zhilei Zhang, which closed his right eye and forced the referee to stop the fight in the sixth round.

Joyce will have a chance turn the tables in a rematch Saturday night at OVO Arena Wembley, a fight he must win if he hopes to have an opportunity to fight for a major world title.

Indeed, a 38-year-old with back-to-back losses doesn’t have much of a future.

“It’s make or break,” Joyce told TalkSport.

Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs) obviously believes in himself. He exercised a rematch clause in the contract for the first fight rather than face an easier mark to get back into the win column and rebuild any lost confidence.

That surprised Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KOs), who expected the second fight to happen after Joyce had a fight or two to work on his weaknesses, which the 40-year-old from China said includes not moving his head and fighting robotically in general.

Zhang believes his rival made a mistake by jumping into a rematch.

“It’s not rocket science that you can’t change to a different style in a few months,” Zhang told Standard Sport. “That’s why the second fight will end even quicker.”

Joyce was competitive in the first fight but failed to adjust to the straight left hands of his southpaw opponent, who landed the punch almost at will.

The Londoner hadn’t faced a left-hander since Lenroy Thomas in 2018, a fight that lasted less than two full rounds. Joyce implied that lack of experience against southpaws worked against him in the first fight with Zhang.

“He’s used to being in there with orthodox fighters,” Joyce told TalkSport. “He was my first southpaw in a while. It’s a whole different ball game, completely different tactics to face someone who is a southpaw.”

The fact he had some strong rounds in the first fight, he said, is something on which he can build.

“In the first fight I felt, watching it back, there was an opportunity for me to win the fight,” he said. “It’s just the eye kind of like stopped it going to the second half of the fight. So that might make a difference.”

If Joyce beats the WBO “interim” titleholder this time?

He’ll be back to where he was before the upset in the first fight, at the top of the rankings in at least one of the four major sanctioning bodies.

He would then have to resume the waiting game as unified champion Oleksandr Usyk and titleholder Tyson Fury plot their futures. That can be frustrating but it’s exactly where you want to be, in position for a big fight.

If Joyce loses on Saturday? He could be finished as an elite fighter.

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Joe Joyce’s rematch with Zhilei Zhang is ‘make or break’ challenge

Joe Joyce’s rematch with Zhilei Zhang on Saturday night is a “make or break” challenge for the Londoner.

Is this do or die for Joe Joyce?

The Londoner was never a great technician or athlete but he was a competent boxer with unusual size and strength, which enabled him to win a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics and become a mandatory world title challenger as a professional.

Then, on April 15, disaster struck. Joyce couldn’t avoid the left hand of Zhilei Zhang, which closed his right eye and forced the referee to stop the fight in the sixth round.

Joyce will have a chance turn the tables in a rematch Saturday night at OVO Arena Wembley, a fight he must win if he hopes to have an opportunity to fight for a major world title.

Indeed, a 38-year-old with back-to-back losses doesn’t have much of a future.

“It’s make or break,” Joyce told TalkSport.

Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs) obviously believes in himself. He exercised a rematch clause in the contract for the first fight rather than face an easier mark to get back into the win column and rebuild any lost confidence.

That surprised Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KOs), who expected the second fight to happen after Joyce had a fight or two to work on his weaknesses, which the 40-year-old from China said includes not moving his head and fighting robotically in general.

Zhang believes his rival made a mistake by jumping into a rematch.

“It’s not rocket science that you can’t change to a different style in a few months,” Zhang told Standard Sport. “That’s why the second fight will end even quicker.”

Joyce was competitive in the first fight but failed to adjust to the straight left hands of his southpaw opponent, who landed the punch almost at will.

The Londoner hadn’t faced a left-hander since Lenroy Thomas in 2018, a fight that lasted less than two full rounds. Joyce implied that lack of experience against southpaws worked against him in the first fight with Zhang.

“He’s used to being in there with orthodox fighters,” Joyce told TalkSport. “He was my first southpaw in a while. It’s a whole different ball game, completely different tactics to face someone who is a southpaw.”

The fact he had some strong rounds in the first fight, he said, is something on which he can build.

“In the first fight I felt, watching it back, there was an opportunity for me to win the fight,” he said. “It’s just the eye kind of like stopped it going to the second half of the fight. So that might make a difference.”

If Joyce beats the WBO “interim” titleholder this time?

He’ll be back to where he was before the upset in the first fight, at the top of the rankings in at least one of the four major sanctioning bodies.

He would then have to resume the waiting game as unified champion Oleksandr Usyk and titleholder Tyson Fury plot their futures. That can be frustrating but it’s exactly where you want to be, in position for a big fight.

If Joyce loses on Saturday? He could be finished as an elite fighter.

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Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce II: Date, time, how to watch, background

Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce II: Date, time, how to watch, background.

Zhilei Zhang and Joe Joyce will fight a second time on Saturday, giving the former a chance to prove his upset knockout in April was no fluke.

ZHILEI ZHANG (25-1-1, 20 KOs)
VS. JOE JOYCE (15-1, 14 KOs)

  • Date: Saturday, Sept. 23
  • Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
  • Where: OVO Arena Wembley, London
  • TV/Stream: ESPN+
  • Division: Heavyweight (no limit)
  • At stake: No major titles
  • Odds: Even (average of multiple outlets)
  • Pound-for-pound: None
  • Also on the card: Anthony Yarde vs. TBA, light heavyweights; Sam Noakes vs. Carlos Perez, lightweights; Pierce O’Leary vs. Kane Gardner, junior welterweights; Zach Parker vs. Khalid Graidia, super middleweights
  • Prediction: Joyce UD
  • Background: Joyce was moving rapidly toward a shot at a heavyweight title when Zhang shocked him and the boxing world by stopping the Briton in six rounds on April 15 in London. Zhang, a southpaw, used his punishing left hand to close Joyce’s right eye and force the referee to stop the fight. Zhang will have a chance to demonstrate that his victory was no fluke while Joyce fights to save his career as an elite fighter in the rematch. Zhang suffered his first career loss last August, when he ended up on the wrong end of a close decision to unbeaten Filip Hrgovic but pumped life into his career by giving a solid performance. Then came the opportunity to fight Joyce. The key to Zhang’s success wasn’t complicated: The 6-foot-6, 280-pounder from China couldn’t miss his straight left from beginning to end, which rattled Joyce several times and began to cause swelling on his eye after only a few rounds. Joyce had some success but couldn’t avoid Zhang’s left, which led to his demise. We’ll see in the rematch whether he will have made the necessary adjustments to the turn the tables.

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Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce II: Date, time, how to watch, background

Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce II: Date, time, how to watch, background.

Zhilei Zhang and Joe Joyce will fight a second time on Saturday, giving the former a chance to prove his upset knockout in April was no fluke.

ZHILEI ZHANG (25-1-1, 20 KOs)
VS. JOE JOYCE (15-1, 14 KOs)

  • Date: Saturday, Sept. 23
  • Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
  • Where: OVO Arena Wembley, London
  • TV/Stream: ESPN+
  • Division: Heavyweight (no limit)
  • At stake: No major titles
  • Odds: Even (average of multiple outlets)
  • Pound-for-pound: None
  • Also on the card: Anthony Yarde vs. TBA, light heavyweights; Sam Noakes vs. Carlos Perez, lightweights; Pierce O’Leary vs. Kane Gardner, junior welterweights; Zach Parker vs. Khalid Graidia, super middleweights
  • Prediction: Joyce UD
  • Background: Joyce was moving rapidly toward a shot at a heavyweight title when Zhang shocked him and the boxing world by stopping the Briton in six rounds on April 15 in London. Zhang, a southpaw, used his punishing left hand to close Joyce’s right eye and force the referee to stop the fight. Zhang will have a chance to demonstrate that his victory was no fluke while Joyce fights to save his career as an elite fighter in the rematch. Zhang suffered his first career loss last August, when he ended up on the wrong end of a close decision to unbeaten Filip Hrgovic but pumped life into his career by giving a solid performance. Then came the opportunity to fight Joyce. The key to Zhang’s success wasn’t complicated: The 6-foot-6, 280-pounder from China couldn’t miss his straight left from beginning to end, which rattled Joyce several times and began to cause swelling on his eye after only a few rounds. Joyce had some success but couldn’t avoid Zhang’s left, which led to his demise. We’ll see in the rematch whether he will have made the necessary adjustments to the turn the tables.

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