‘Expect a SLUG-FEST’: Joe Joyce insists there will be ‘fireworks’ when he takes on China’s Zhilei Zhang – with a win that will propel either fighter to world heavyweight title
- Joyce expects an entertaining evening at the Copper Box on Saturday night
- The heavyweight has won all 15 of his fights and expects more of the same
- Big Bang Zhang suffered his first defeat in his 26 fights last August
Two Big Old Boys – as Joe Joyce self-deprecatingly describes himself and Zhilei Zhang – will do their utmost this Saturday night to be brutally forced into the closed shop of world heavyweight champions.
Whoever of them flattens the other in London’s Copper Box will have a deafening bang on the door behind which Tyson Fury and Olexsandr Usyk will defend their titles against former belt bearers Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr – plus a few of their old buddies.
Both Juggernaut Joe and Big Bang Zhang knock a little bit. The Londoner Joyce is 37, the Chinese Zhilei 39.
So strictly on a yearly basis, Joyce’s description of the couple is accurate. But in terms of wear and tear, neither is quite as decayed as an old Ford Cortina. Ring rust, more likely, given the long wait for a title shot and the pauses therein.
They are partly responsible for their frustrations. Both postponed turning pro until they were in their 30s.
Joe Joyce faces Zhilei Zhang at London’s Copper Box on Saturday night
Joyce has won all 15 of his professional bouts, 14 of them by knockout
Zhilei Zhang has lost just one of his 26 professional bouts, last August
Joyce, who lost to Joshua for a place in the British team for the 2012 London Olympics, remained an amateur for another four years in hopes of gold in Rio. Only to find himself left with silver after a hugely controversial points defeat to France’s Tony Yoka in the 2016 super heavyweight final.
After leaving China, Zhang took time off to settle in New Jersey following the Games disappointment ahead of his 2014 pro debut in the US. How ironic that they are now colliding in the Olympic Park in East London. The similarities do not stop at the location. Each of them is six feet tall and weighs more than 18 stones.
Joyce adds, “We’re both huge punchers and both have granite jaws.” And it has to be said, both are as easy to hit as a red London bus by a drunk driver.
As Joyce says, “Expect fireworks and a snail feast.”
Zhang adds, “Just one of my punches needs to be perfectly timed to break that chin and knock him out.”
They enter the ring with a victory set to propel both fighters to the heavyweight title shot
The Juggernaut is on his way to the Copper Box, having landed the 14th knockout of his all-win 15-fight career by stopping New Zealand’s former world champion in the 11th round in December.
Big Bang suffered its first loss in his 26 fights when he was knocked out by Croatian contender Fillip Hrgovic last August. A narrow decision that the man from Hunan still protested against during this week of fighting.
There is one main difference between them. Zhang boxes left-handed. Joyce operates behind a left jab that is not only orthodox, but so shaky it closed the right eye and then fractured the eye socket so badly that his British rival Daniel Dubois was forced to retire in the 10th round. In unison with Zhang, he protested this week that he and not Dubois should line up to challenge Usyk in a three-cushion bout, which is now being negotiated.
The difference is that the WBA, with whom Dubois is their “regular” champion, comes ahead of the WBO, whose interim champion is Joyce, in the pecking order for mandatory world alpha-belt challenges.
The last man standing this weekend should be in pole position once Fury, Usyk, Dubois, Joshua and perhaps Wilder unravel the staggering complexity of the major boxing division, which is desperately seeking its first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis retired 19 years ago. .
Joyce describes Zhang as “a high-risk opponent.” But as he becomes more proficient and significantly faster, expect the Juggernaut to be the Good Old Boy still standing upright at the explosive climax where his senses are also rattled by heavy bombardment.
* Joyce v Zhang will be broadcast live on BT Sport this Saturday night.