In a battle of Olympic silver medal winners, Zhilei Zhang pulled off a shocker on Saturday night at the Copper Box Arena in London, when he stopped undefeated Joe Joyce to capture the WBO’s interim-heavyweight title.
Zhang, 39-years-old, came out firing in the first round quickly began to damage the face of Joyce.
The 37-year-old Joyce had issues throughout the fight with the southpaw style of Zhang – which allowed the Chinese giant to land big left hands over and over.
Joyce would come alive during moments in the fight, with a very high workrate to nullify Zhang in key spots. But, it was Zhang landing the bigger shots all fight long.
Both fighters displayed solid chins, but it was Joyce’s eye which eventually gave out from the constant pounding in every round.
During the sixth round, Joyce’s right eye was swollen shut – which led to the ringside doctor advising the referee to wave off the fight.
The win is a big setback for Joyce, who was very close to a mandatory world title shot.
“I am disappointed with my performance,” said Joyce, the 2016 Olympic silver medal winner.
“The [left] hand kept hitting me, and I couldn’t get out of the way. So, respect to Zhilei Zhang. It was a good fight, but I think I could have done better.
“I have not fought against a southpaw for so long. Credit to him. He is a good fighter and I gave it my all. But I expected to win. I would like to apologize to all my fans and my supporters. I will be back and my journey is not over.”
Zhang bounces back after losing a controversial decision in his last fight, which was an IBF final eliminator with Filip Hrgovic.