The April 15th showdown between Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang was one for the ages. The world had set its eyes on the Copper Box Arena in London where the two heavyweights were supposed to clash in a 12-round contest. However, the bout had to be stopped in the 6th round, giving the boxing world a heavy upset at the hands of Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang.
Joe came into this bout as the WBO interim heavyweight champion against a tough Zhang. With a win over the Chinese, ‘Juggernaut‘ would have been one step closer to winning the world title shot. However, the intriguing power of Zhilei was too much to handle for the Brit.
The New WBO Interim World Heavyweight Champion 🏆
Zhilei Zhang takes it 👏#FightNight | #JoyceZhang | 📺 BT Sport 1 pic.twitter.com/9nDzidCiSX
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) April 15, 2023
During the weigh-ins, Joyce impressed everyone with a lighter build for the fight, compared to his 2022 contest against Joseph Parker. Fans thought this would give him a speed advantage against Zhang. Had everything gone according to his plans, Joe was looking to land a megafight later this year against unified champ Oleksandr Usyk. Dillian Whyte also made it to the front row to fuel the possibility of a future bout with Joe.
The 37-year-old also had plans to lock horns with fellow Brits Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Unfortunately for him, Zhilei stopped him in his tracks after six rounds. In an ideal world, Joyce would have extended his perfect record to 16-0 tonight. But his infamous capability or the lack thereof, to take punishment eventually became his biggest weakness.
Joe Joyce falls prey to karma as Zhilei Zhang stops The Juggernaut in the sixth round
‘Juggernaut’ had won all 15 of his boxing bouts to date, 14 of them via stoppage. The hardcore boxing fans knew Zhang could give Joe Joyce a lot of problems in this match. The 39-year-old Chinese had won 20 of his 25 wins via knockout, suffering only one defeat in his pro career.
Entering the ring in front of a Brit-heavy arena, Zhilei stunned his opponent with heavy punches throughout the fight. One of the notable moments occurred when Joe ate a big right hand midway through the second round. To Zhang’s surprise, Joe recovered pretty well and opted to continue trading for the rest of the round.
Zhang with a massive shot in the second round 🫢#FightNight | #JoyceZhang | 📺 BT Sport 1 pic.twitter.com/nuz7Y6DJZW
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) April 15, 2023
Zhang continued to threaten and put Joe to the canvas with his deadly combinations and right hands. Eventually, Zhilei’s early dominance and onslaught drew blood from Joe’s nose. As the fight went on, Joe’s eye swelling began to hinder his vision. And Zhilei’s constant success with his left hand didn’t help Joyce’s left eye any better.
Throughout the 4th and 5th rounds, every left hand that Zhilei threw seemed to snap Joe’s head back. He even wobbled the Brit for a few brief seconds. However, due to less volume from Zhang, especially in the 5th, Joe scooped the round in his favor.
Gutted, so annoying that I lost, but credit to Zhilei Zhang for giving me a good fight and getting the victory. I’ll be back.#THEJUGGERNAUT pic.twitter.com/UVQfd2tyHD
— Joe Joyce (@JoeJoyceBoxing) April 16, 2023
The referee, Howard Foster, called the bout off due to ‘Juggernaut’ suffering significant swelling to his right eye. This led to Zhang racking up the WBO interim heavyweight title, making him next in line for Oleksandr Usyk.
In his post-fight speech, Joe made a reference to his 2020 win over Daniel Dubois. Joe said, “It’s an eye for an eye now, I got my eye done. I got a bit of payback from Dubois, I guess. Maybe it’s karma.” In his bout with Dubois, the Brit made Daniel quit in the 10th round after completely shutting his left eye up, quite similar to tonight’s scenes.
Joe’s fans certainly hope for an immediate rematch, given his unbeaten streak prior. However, considering the politics that revolves around the sport of boxing, officials may very well expect Joyce to climb up the ladder once again.