Joe Joyce was dealt a major blow in his pursuit of a world title shot as he suffered a stunning stoppage defeat to China’s Zhilei Zhang at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday night.
The Juggernaut relinquished his WBO Interim belt as his 39-year-old opponent produced a commanding display to force the referee to bring the contest to a halt in the sixth round.
Severe swelling to the eye of Joyce told the story of Zhang’s incredible power, the damage eventually proving too much as Howard Foster was forced to step in at the midway point.
It marked the first professional defeat of Joyce’s career while for Zhang it was the perfect response to his divisive first career defeat at the hands of Filip Hrgovic in their IBF title eliminator last August.
Build-up to the fight had forecast a potential match-up with the likes of Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua for Joyce, but this was Zhang’s night and the victor made known his own intentions to chase down the title holders.
“I’m just disappointed with my performance, I think the right hand he kept hitting me with I couldn’t get out of the way,” Joyce told BT Sport in the ring post-fight
“Respect to Zhilei Zhang, it was a good fight but I think I could have done better, I think because I haven’t fought a southpaw for so long. Credit to him because he was a good fighter, and I gave it my all. I think I could do better but it’s just disappointing.
“I just couldn’t get away from his left hand, I kept on getting hit so I was disappointed and I’d like to apologise to all of my fans and supporters. But I also want to thank you for coming down here, I’ll be back, my journey’s not over this is just a hurdle I may have tripped over so I’ll be back.
Zhang wasted no time in introducing the London crowd to his power as he rocked Joyce with a crushing left hook, to which his opponent replied with a swooping overhand right of his own to impose his knockout credentials. But back came Zhang, breaching Joyce’s defences once more with an uppercut to snap the Brit’s head back, leaving him with something to think about as the pair split at the end of the opening round.
The visitor continued to look dangerous in the second and threatened to put Joyce to the canvas with an emphatic right-left combination that left the home favourite stumbling towards the ropes. The punishment soon drew blood from the nose of Joyce, who by now was beginning to swell under the eye such was Zhang’s early dominance.
Joyce looked to come out of the blocks quicker in the third but for all his intent Zhang remained more than a match for him, landing another enormous left hook to prompt gasps from the crowd, who were also being reminded of their man’s notoriously-tough chin.
The shots were stacking up quickly, though, and Zhang continued to bludgeon the face of Joyce, who was forced to absorb another clinical combination before being swept to one side by a clean left hook at the end of the round.
Joyce’s best spell arrived in the fifth when he finally managed to force Zhang into a retreat, only to eat up another snappy left hand for good measure. The pace of the fight then began to show as the pair grappled at the middle of the ring, but the pause was only momentary as Joyce, whose eye was continuing to bulge, pushed off and sought to get to work to recoup lost rounds.
The referee called on Joyce’s corner to take a look at their man’s eye in the break, prompting Zhang to goad the crowd with the belief he was on his way to victory.
Zhang’s production showed no let up and finally Foster had no choice but to step in and wave off the fight such was the damage to Joyce’s eye.
Dillian Whyte was in attendance on the night to fuel speculation of a meeting with Joyce later this year. Joyce may yet have unfinished business with Big Bang Zhang, who returns home celebrating the greatest win of his career.
