Former two-weight world champion, David Haye, has been speaking about an upcoming heavyweight fight where fans can ‘expect fireworks’.
Although there has been no official announcement, it seems just a matter of time until a clash between WBO interim belt holder Joe Joyce and hard hitting Chinese southpaw Zhilei Zhang is confirmed.
Reports surfaced this week that ‘The Juggernaut’ will take on ‘Big Bang’ Zhang at the 02 Arena in London on April 15th and David Haye seems as excited as most fans about the matchup.
Speaking about the fight to TalkSPORT, Haye said:
“That’s a good fight, it’s a southpaw, I saw him fight Hrgovic last time round, I fought he won that fight, it was a close fight but I thought he won it and I think those styles will work very well.
Both fighters walk forward ,they’re big punchers, they’re big set men, I think it’s a perfect clash. If I could pick a fight, Zhang and Joyce – they aren’t going to take a backwards step. It’s going to be fireworks.”
Haye, who knows Joyce well, was full of praise for the man who all other heavyweights seems to be avoiding:
“He’s got the tools to become World Heavyweight Champion. He’s somehow got this punch resistance that seems unnatural he absorbs punches better than any other heavyweight I’ve ever seen. If he can continue doing what he did against Parker, he’s going to be a problem for everybody.”
Joyce’s stunning 11th round knockout of former world champion Joseph Parker last year cemented his status as a bonafide contender in the heavyweight division.
Zhang will be most familiar to British fans from his dramatic fight with Filip Hrgovic on the undercard of Usyk vs Joshua II. Despite most fans believing Zhang did enough to get his hand raised, Hrgovic was the won who walked away with a razor thin decision victory.
Both men seem to only know one way to fight and rarely take a backwards step, so as Haye says himself, fans can expect fireworks in London this Spring.