Footage has resurfaced of Anthony Joshua dropping upcoming Joe Joyce opponent, Zhilei Zhang, at the London Olympics in 2012.
Joyce is set to face China’s ‘Big Bang’ this weekend, in a clash of two giant, power punching heavyweights.
It’s hard for fans to imagine how Zhang and Joyce’s relentless come forward style won’t make for fireworks, with both men known for their heavy hands rather than their defensive skills.
If Joyce can get through Zhang on Saturday then a potential fight against British rival, Joshua, could be a possibility. Joshua has stated his desire to fight ‘The Juggernaut’ before he hangs up the gloves, with promoter, Eddie Hearn, insisting the fight will ‘100%’ happen.
Video of Joshua fighting Zhang at the Olympics shows ‘AJ’ dropping his opponent in their quarter final bout. Joshua of course went on to capture gold and catapult him into superstardom as he started his professional journey.
A fight between Joshua and Joyce had been rumoured as a possibility for this summer, but the former two-time champion has since revealed he won’t be making a ring return until December, with fans none the wiser as to why.
With unified champion Oleksandr Usyk starting to fulfil his mandatories, and WBA regular champion, Daniel Dubois first in line, Joyce may try and force a clash with stablemate Tyson Fury.
Fury has gone unusually quiet since the collapse of his undisputed fight against Usyk. Only recently has his US promoter, Bob Arum, started suggesting possible opponents, with Andy Ruiz Jr’s name the first to be mentioned.
Ruiz is well known to British fans, having caused one of the biggest upsets in boxing history when he stopped Joshua back in 2019 to become the first Mexican heavyweight champion.