Joe Joyce will jump straight back in with Zhilei Zhang on September 23, with revenge crucial for the Brit if he is to have any aspirations of becoming world heavyweight champion.
Zhang sprang a huge upset earlier this year and became the first man to defeat Joyce as a professional when the ringside doctor advised referee Howard Foster to wave the contest off due to damage to ‘The Juggernaut’s eye.
Though Joyce clearly has a difficult task in reversing that result, pundit Carl Frampton believes it is one he can pull off.
In a recent interview with JTH Boxing, former two weight world champion Frampton explained that Joyce can get his own back on Zhang and even force a stoppage with a “few small adjustments.”
“I think he [Joyce] can redeem himself, if he makes a few small adjustments.”
“It was stopped because of his eye, but Zhang was the one hitting the eye. I think, though, if the eye hadn’t closed, Joyce may have came into the fight more and more.”
“I think Joyce can redeem himself. I think he can force a late stoppage against Zhang.”
The WBO interim world title will be on the line at Wembley Arena, meaning the victor will be in line for a shot at the full belt in the not too distant future.
There had been speculation over the spring that Zhang was in talks to take on WBC champion Tyson Fury, however Joyce had no interest in accepting step aside money and activated a contractual rematch clause for another crack at ‘Big Bang.’
The pair will face off for a second time this year at the OVO Arena, Wembley.