Heavyweight contenders Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang will square off on April 15 at the Copper Box Arena in London, as Joyce looks to prove himself as a bona fide top-five contender, while Zhang aims to separate himself from the fringe of the top ten.
Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) – the 2016 Olympics silver medalist nicknamed “Juggernaut” – has lived up to his moniker over his last four fights, steamrolling through the likes of Daniel Dubois, Carlos Takam, Christian Hammer, and Joseph Parker via stoppage wins.
The two-time Chinese Olympian and silver medalist winner Zhang (24-1-1, 19 KO) suffered his first professional defeat in his last fight despite looking solid against Filip Hrgovic. Zhang dropped the Croatian and controlled stretches of the bout, but the judges awarded Hrgovic scores of 115–112, 115-112, and 114–113 for a unanimous decision.
The New Jersey-based boxer billed as “Big Bang” believes he has the brute power to stop Joyce once they meet in their 12-round main event bout.
“Everybody calls him a Juggernaut for a reason. He does look like one. He’s very well-conditioned, can take a punch, and has an iron chin. All these things are very impressive,” Zhang told Bad Left Hook.
“He’s never fought anyone like me. I have the power to hurt him and he’ll feel this. If he is a Juggernaut, then I am armor-piercing.
“When fans look at me they see the core values of boxing. I am explosive. And I love the sport from the bottom of my heart. I train all the time and I guess this professionalism and dedication is why I have become more popular.
“We are studying him at the moment. The thing is, I don’t talk anyone down or focus on weaknesses. I would never speak to the public about his disadvantages. I look at what he is good at and then we come up with the right game plan.”
At the age of 39, Zhang said he wants to improve his conditioning to make sure he outlasts Joyce.
“Lots of things we are trying. I am working on my conditioning mainly. This has had a lot of criticism in previous fights. I need to be ready to go the distance and work for the whole 36 minutes if needed,” said Zhang.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.