NEW YORK – Zhilei Zhang and Joe Joyce have a date and a site for their immediate rematch.
Zhang confirmed to BoxingScene.com that he’ll defend his WBO interim heavyweight title against Joyce on September 2 at OVO Arena Wembley in London. BT Sport is expected to televise the second bout between China’s Zhang and London’s Joyce in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
ESPN+ likely will stream Zhang-Joyce II in the United States.
Mike Coppinger first reported on ESPN.com that September 2 is the date for the Zhang-Joyce rematch. Shane Watson, Joyce’s manager, previously revealed that Joyce had exercised his contractual right to an immediate rematch with Zhang.
The 40-year-old Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KOs) upset the previously unbeaten Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs) by sixth-round technical knockout April 15 at Copper Box Arena in London. Zhang, a 2008 Olympic silver medalist who resides and trains in northern New Jersey, had hoped to capitalize on his career-changing win by challenging unbeaten WBC champion Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) on July 22 at Wembley Stadium in London, but Joyce activated his rematch clause.
The 37-year-old Joyce entered the ring as a 9-1 favorite for his voluntary defense of the WBO interim championship against the 6-foot-6, 278-pound Zhang.
Zhang – a strong, skilled southpaw – was still considered a risky opponent for the 6-foot-6, 256-pound Joyce, who was already the mandatory challenger for one of Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight titles.
In his previous appearance, Zhang dropped unbeaten Croatian contender Filip Hrgovic in the first round and gave Hrgovic the most difficult fight of his professional career. Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs) narrowly won a 12-round unanimous decision over Zhang last August 20 at Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Zhang stung the defensively deficient Joyce with hard left hands throughout their fight and caused severe swelling beneath Joyce’s right eye. After examining Joyce during the sixth round, a British Boxing Board of Control doctor instructed referee Howard Foster to stop their scheduled 12-round bout because Joyce had suffered too much damage around his right eye.
Joyce didn’t complain about the stoppage and was gracious in defeat.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.