9/23 ESPN+: Zhilei Zhang vs Joe Joyce 2

[patscorpio]

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Heavyweights Zhilei Zhang and Joe Joyce are now officially set for their rematch, with Sept. 23 at London’s OVO Arena Wembley the official date and venue.

The two had been previously rumored to be headed for a Sept. 2 date in London.

The 40-year-old Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KO) upset Joyce (15-1, 14 KO) on April 15 at London’s Copper Box Arena, battering Joyce’s eye until there was no choice but to stop the fight in the sixth round. It was a compelling bout, with Zhang doing obvious damage and dominating much of the fight, but there was some good reason to believe that Joyce, 37, may have been able to turn things around in the second half of the fight if he’d been able to get there.

One suspects Zhang will see if that same target is there this time, and that Joyce, not exactly a defensive specialist, may try to force Zhang into some other tactic, and may look to get the snowball rolling downhill from the jump in this one.

Given the state of the heavyweight division, with Tyson Fury claiming nobody wants to fight him and Oleksandr Usyk’s three belts tied up with mandatory defenses if not Fury, this rematch made sense for both guys, as Joyce tries to immediately even the score and Zhang tries to keep his seat at the table, waiting on his turn with the WBO.

Zhang does hold the interim WBO title, which will be at stake again. Joyce had beaten Joseph Parker to win that interim title in Sept. 2022.

 

[Rev Leon Lonnie Love]

IN for the slugfest that will become of this

 

[TDUBB]

Zhang 10th round TKO

Chinese POWWA!

 

[patscorpio]

 

[Conscious Pilot]

Let see if it looks like Joyce finally sparred a Southpaw this go around.

 

[Recca Gatsby]

This nygga bout to get knocked out again

 

[Knicksman20]

Let see if it looks like Joyce finally sparred a Southpaw this go around.

Seriously bro. He looked lost out there

 

[ℒℴѵℯJay ELECTUA]

If he gets whooped up again then Britain takes a massive L in heavyweight boxing 2023.

 

[UncleTomFord15]

Regret not betting on the first fight. Zhang that big of an underdog on the odds should've been a crime.

 

[patscorpio]

Joe Joyce: Loss To Zhang Was a Wake Up Call To Get Things Right​

BY JOHN EVANS
Published Fri Sep 08, 2023, 12:10 PM EDT
Joe Joyce looked in good shape as he walked the red carpet at the massive Tyson Fury - Francis Ngannou launch event in London on Thursday.
Joyce has some pressing business of his own. On September 23rd he rematches Zhilei Zhang in a must win rematch for the WBO Interim heavyweight title.
Despite previously pushing the highly rated Filip Hrgovic to a contentious decision loss, 40 year old Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KO’s) was overlooked in April but produced an outstanding display, busting Joyce up and stopping him in six rounds. Joyce (15-1, 14 KO’s) tipped the scales at 256lbs for the fight - his lowest for five years - and looked totally out of sorts. It isn’t a mistake he is planning on repeating.
“I’m feeling good. I’m focused, a bit heavier and good to go,” Joyce told Carl Frampton. “If I’d won the fight like that then no mistakes I’d made in the first camp would have been corrected. Going forward it’s given me a wake up call to get things right.’
In the first fight, Joyce tried to rumble forward in his usual relentless way but paid a heavy price for almost every attack. ‘The Juggernaut’ found Zhang’s southpaw stance a difficult puzzle to solve and quickly ran out of ideas, willing himself on through sheer determination. The fight was stopped due to a severe swelling around Joyce’s right eye but he absorbed a worrying amount of punishment all night. Joyce will never be found wanting for desire and effort but is 37 years old and has had only five months to make some drastic technical changes. Nonetheless, he is confident he has got things right this time.
“I’ve got everything right. I’ve been a lot more disciplined and focused and switched on,” he said. “Maybe I took my eye off the ball a little bit in the first fight and I’m just making sure I’ve ticked all the boxes and dotted all the i’s. It’s a bit more practice with the southpaw stance in terms of sparring and technique and tactics but also getting my body bigger and stronger and more ready for the job of fighting Zhang. Zhang surprised me with his speedy accuracy and power and I got the tactics wrong on the night. There were a lot of things to nitpick that have been handled in this camp.”

 

[patscorpio]

 

[Electric Ladyland]

Zhang might just have Joyce’s number

he won the first fight effortlessly

 

[reservoirdogs]

Zhang seems to have his number, he gasses hard though after rounds 5-6, shytty tank. But hard to go against Zhang after the first one, I know Joyce is a former Olympian but he just doesn't seem like the guy who's gonna learn to defend that left hand in just one camp, it got to him so often in the first fight.
Also, did that eye heal in just 5 months?

 

[malbaker86]

Got Zhang in the rematch but wouldn't be shocked if he lost

 

[UpAndComing]

Looks like Zhang is looking more fit. You can tell he knows Jo Joyce's game plan in the 2nd fight is to tire him out and take the fight into the later rounds