World Title: In his quest for a crack at the world championship, Joe Joyce was given a serious setback on Saturday night at the Copper Box Arena when he was shockingly defeated by China’s Zhilei Zhang in a stoppage match.
The Juggernaut gave up his WBO Interim title after his 39-year-old opponent put on a dominant performance that compelled the referee to stop the fight in the sixth round.
Joyce’s eye had a severe swelling that revealed Zhang’s immense ability. The damage ultimately became too great, and Howard Foster had to intervene in the middle of the battle.
For Zhang, it was the ideal retaliation to his controversial first-career loss to Filip Hrgovic in their IBF title eliminator last August. It was Joyce’s first loss in a professional fight.
The build-up to the fight had predicted that Joyce might face Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, or Anthony Joshua, but it was Zhang’s night, and the winner made it clear that he intended to go after the title holders.
In the ring after the bout, Joyce told BT Sport, “I’m really dissatisfied with my performance. I thought the right hand he kept hitting me with, but I couldn’t move out of the way.”
“With all due respect to Zhilei Zhang, it was a fantastic fight, but I believe I could have performed better because it has been so long since I have faced a southpaw. He was a good fighter, and I gave it everything I had. Though I feel I could have done better, it’s still disheartening.
“I’d like to apologise to all of my followers and supporters since I continued getting attacked, which left me disappointed. But I also want to thank you for coming down here. I promise to return; this is merely a roadblock I may have encountered on the way.
Zhang wasted no time in showcasing his strength to the London crowd as he rocked Joyce with a powerful left hook. His opponent responded by asserting his knockout skills with a sweeping overhand right of his own. Yet Zhang returned, breaking through Joyce’s defences once more with an uppercut to snap the British fighter’s head back, giving him plenty to ponder as the two split the opening round.
In the second, the visitor remained a menace and threatened to knock Joyce to the ground with a powerful right-left combination that sent the crowd favourite wobbling in the direction of the ropes. The punishment quickly caused Joyce’s nose to bleed; by this point, Zhang’s early dominance had caused Joyce’s eye to bulge.
Joyce attempted to start faster in the third, but Zhang was more than a match for him, delivering another big left hook that brought gasps from the audience and reminded them of their man’s renowned strong chin.
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