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Joyce-Zhang Final Press Conference
WBO interim heavyweight champion “Juggernaut” Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) and challenger Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang (24-1-1, 19 KOs) faced off at the final press conference today for their clash Saturday on ESPN+ from the Copper Box Arena in London.
Joe Joyce: “I’ve got the WBO interim, I don’t know how close I could be to a world title. All the others seem to be running scared or doing their own little things. I want the fight to happen, but I get how things work with the governing bodies and I can only fight what’s put in front of me…I respect Zhang’s power and I won’t be going in there recklessly, and also he’s a southpaw so that’s more of a tricky style than I’m used to.”
Zhilei Zhang: “He’g got a tough chin, great stamina, but I’m the Big Bang right here. I bang everything!”
Joyce is a 10:1 favorite.
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Joe Joyce Has To Hold His Place
BY CLIFF ROLD
Published Thu Apr 13, 2023, 12:12 AM EDT
Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KO) is one of the best heavyweights in the world.
TBRB, Ring Magazine, ESPN, BoxRec…pick your outlet. None have him lower than sixth. He’s not rated by the WBC, WBA, or IBF but that’s more procedural than punitive. Joyce holds an interim designation from the WBO, making him in essence the mandatory in waiting for unified titlist Oleksandr Usyk.
The 37-year old 2016 Olympic silvermedalist has one task: keep winning until his opportunity arrives.
As last Saturday reminded the world, the keep winning part is easier than it looks.
Jr. middleweight Sebastian Fundora was in the driver’s seat for an inevitable crack at undisputed world champion Jermell Charlo. Fundora had an interim title to mark his place in line. Fundora won the first six rounds against Brian Mendoza.
Fundora lost his place in line.
Joyce’s stock has never been higher. His 2020 knockout of Daniel Dubois announced him as one to watch. His knockout of former titlist Joseph Parker stamped him as a fully arrived threat to Usyk or lineal World Champion Tyson Fury. Parker gave a gutsy, inspired effort and Parker was rewarded with his first knockout loss in one of the better heavyweight fights of 2022.
Joyce lacks speed but possesses almost everything else. He’s got a good jab, stamina, impressive size, serious power, and Joyce’s punch resistance so far is of horror movie quality. Anyone recall the look of desperation victims had on the silver screen when they hit Jason Voorhies with everything they had and there he still was with a machete?
That look happens in Joyce fights sometimes. It’s understandable. What is one supposed to think when a mammoth of a man just keeps coming after absorbing heavyweight bombs, landing punches that look too slow from the outside and hurt like hell while drawing blood from the inside.
Fundora took a lot of good shots before he didn’t. Fighters whose defense is in part a product of their ability to endure often, finally, eat the wrong bomb.
Joyce is facing another mammoth of a man on Saturday (ESPN+, 3 PM EST). It’s fun to wonder if 39-year old Zhang Zhilei (24-1-1, 19 KO) has a chance to play a similar role to Mendoza this weekend.
Zhilei is entering off his first career loss, a competitive decision versus undefeated Filip Hrgovic, but he has assets that could serve him well versus Joyce. Zhilei has his own amateur pedigree, having won Olympic Silver in 2008. He can match Joyce’s size, looking him in the eye at 6’6 with both having topped 270 lbs.
Something to watch this weekend could be the hand speed. Men this big will never move like Roy Jones, but speed matters in any contest and Zhilei might have the quicker hands. Zhilei might not have quite the knockout percentage Joyce does, but if he gets his bombs home first are they the sort that could finally dent Joyce?
WWE wrestler Big E. Langstrom came up with a phrase that has become popularized further on social media. Joyce-Zhilei is ‘big, meaty men slapping meat.’ When a pair of Olympic medalists are the one’s slapping meat, anything can happen.
Joe Joyce is favored to keep his place in line on Saturday.
Zhilei has a chance to reorder the line.
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Looking forward to this
Joyce would have to be favorite on engine alone but hey if the Chinese southpaw can land who knows
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10-1 odds. A quiet $20 on Zhang maybe?
Posts: 12,616
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Joined: Jan 1970
Posts: 12,616
Threads: 286
Joined: Jan 1970
Posts: 12,616
Threads: 286
Joined: Jan 1970
Bart, any luck with your techies for the fight???
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Wow wow wow wow. Thanks bart.
JJ was easy to hit in previous fights. Zhang made him pay for it. Should put money on Zhang, like I shoulda put money on Ruiz/AJ in their first fight.
