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Zhilei Zhang With Huge Upset Stoppage Against Joe Joyce

Written by Kerr Ferguson on 15th April 2023.

Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang

Zhilei Zhang shocked the world by stopping Joe Joyce in London, taking the WBO Interim Heavyweight title in the process.

The card at the Copper Box Arena was broadcast by BT Sport, and saw ‘The Juggernaut’ put his WBO Interim title on the line against ‘Big Bang’ Zhang.

Zhang’s contentious decision loss to Filip Hrgovic last year saw him in good standing in the heavyweight division, and this was the 39-year-old’s second – and likely final – chance at becoming mandatory challenger for a world title.

Joyce has been knocking – nay, thudding – on the door of the champions, Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, and Zhang’s southpaw stance was there to provide welcome experience ahead of those fights. His team clearly didn’t know just how much it would baffle him.

There was a 22lb weight disparity, with Zhang tipping the scales at 278lb whilst Joyce came in considerably lighter than his last fight against Joseph Parker. In fact, he looked in the shape of his career on the scales.

The two Olympic Silver Medalists pawed at each other for the first minute – the gravity of the fight personified. Zhang landed a good combination, bouncing his shots off Joyce’s chin and reddening his face. ‘The Juggernaut’ was visibly thrown by the southpaw style, and it was a lethargic start that would continue.

Joyce came out quicker in the second and landed a few, but nothing of note. Zhang threw back with much more intent and sent Joyce on a backwards step with a bloodied nose to boot. He hurt Joyce with a ramrod left hand and he was staggered. Almost unbelievable to see.

Zhang’s jab was whipping out in the third, and the threat of the straight left was always there now he knew he could hurt Joyce. The Brit’s face was not looking in a good way, and he needed his opponent to tire as many believed he would. Having three or five times the bone density of the average man is all well and good, but Zhang was focusing on that eye.

It ballooned up in the fourth not dissimilar to Joyce’s own work on Daniel Dubois a few years back. He fought past it, landing more on Zhang but that straight left was hitting the eye on the button every time it was thrown. What a scrap at this stage, but not going Joyce’s way at all.

The right eye was completely closed to start the sixth and the doctor took a look. The fight was going to be over quickly, one way or another. All Zhang had to do was throw the left, and that he did. The problem for Joyce was that he doesn’t throw a one shot knockout, he saps the energy of his opponent, and the sixth was too early for Zhang to tire.

Referee Howard Foster invited the ringside doctor in once more and they exchanged words. Foster waved it off, and correctly too.

An utter crisis for Joe Joyce. An unbelievable performance from Zhilei Zhang. An incredible shift in the heavyweight division.

Promoter George Warren confirmed that they had options to work with Zhang moving forward, and would discuss with Joyce’s team about what they’d like to do. As of now, he’s a mandatory challenger for Usyk.

Elsewhere on the card, Eithan James moved to 11-0 in his first welterweight contest with a six-round points decision over Georgi Velichkov. Target practice for Sam Noakes on India’s Karthik Sathish Kumar saw a second round stoppage and the lightweight moving to 11-0 with 11 KOs.

Denzel Bentley retained his British Middleweight title in just 45 seconds – a brutal stoppage of southpaw Kieran Smith. Bentley is now in line to face Hamzah Sheeraz for the Commonwealth strap.

Moses Itauma went the distance for the first time in his fledgling pro career against tough Ukrainian, Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko. It was a dominant display over the six rounds from the 18-year-old, who moves to 3-0 but his eight-fight plan for 2023 may be affected by a hand injury picked up in the fourth.

Mikaela Mayer had a successful debut up at lightweight against Lucy Wildheart – a last minute stand in who gave a very good account of herself but was edged out in every round, losing by unanimous decision.