Zhilei Zhang says Joe Joyce will be undone by ‘perfect’ KO punch in heavyweight clash on Saturday. Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang is an upcoming heavyweight boxing match contested between WBO interim champion, Joe Joyce, and former WBO Oriental champion, Zhilei Zhang.
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The Chinese heavyweight reacted with disbelief after losing an IBF title final eliminator against Filip Hrgovic by unanimous decision in August, but ‘Big Bang’ Zhang can propel himself back into world title contention with an upset win over Joe Joyce in London on Saturday night.
Joe Joyce much lighter than Zhilei Zhang before heavyweight fight on Saturday. Zhang Zhilei’s Trainer: We Have To Knock Joyce Out To Win; We Don’t Trust The Politics.
Zhilei’s trainer still can’t understand how three judges scored their 12-round IBF heavyweight elimination match for Hrgovic last August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The previously unbeaten Zhilei scored a knockdown when he landed a right hook during the first round and George knows he had Hrgovic hurt multiple times in the sixth round, when George believes Zhilei could’ve finished off the Croatian contender had he gone to the body.
Judges Leszek Jankowiak (115-112), Pawel Kardyni (114-113) and Robin Taylor (115-112) still scored their competitive fight for Hrgovic, who became the IBF’s mandatory challenger for one of Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight titles.
The British Boxing Board of Control has approved two American judges, Wisconsin’s Mike Fitzgerald and Florida’s Efrain Lebron, and one English judge, Phil Edwards, to score the 12-round bout between Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) and Zhilei (24-1-1, 19 KOs) for Joyce’s WBO interim title.
Zhilei was born and raised in China, for which he won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but he has resided and trained in northern New Jersey for nearly 10 years. Joyce will headline this card in his hometown of London.
The bout will be held at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in London, England. The WBO interim heavyweight title will be at stake.
Joyce has earned his status as the WBO mandatory challenger for the WBO belt held by unified champion Oleksandr Usyk with 15 wins, featuring 14 knockouts, but Zhang is far from intimidated by the British contender.
