Zhilei Zhang v Joe Joyce 2: Tale of the Tape

We analyse the credentials of two of the hardest-hitting heavyweights as Britain's Joe Joyce and China's Zhilei Zhang get set for their hotly-anticipated September rematch.

Back in April when I wrote the Tale of the Tape for Joyce-Zhang 1 the Chinese heavyweight was 6/1 to win and Joyce was a huge 1/10 favourite. 

In my prediction, I said: ‘6/1 is a tempting price for Zhang to win the fight outright but in the end, I think we will witness a valiant effort and a painful defeat at the hands of Joyce after 12 punishing rounds.’

Thankfully I wasn’t the only one to get my prediction wrong!

No-one foresaw a stoppage in the sixth round for Joyce - it was ‘punishing’ but for Joyce throughout the entire contest. 

Zhang continually popped out punches from his southpaw stance which Joyce could not deal with. The result was a badly injured right eye which the ringside physician deemed reason enough to advise the referee to stop the fight.

‘The Juggernaut’ (1/1) had seemed unstoppable, punching through opponents on his way to a certain world title shot. ‘Big Bang’ Zhang burst Joyce’s ambitions and goes into the September 23 rematch as a slight 4/5 favourite.

Joyce is faced with a difficult proposition and improvements to make if he is to avoid a similar fate. 

Can he do it? Let’s look at the Tale of the Tape...
 

	Joe Joyce (1/1)	Zhilei Zhang (4/5)
Age:	37	40
Nickname:	The Juggernaut	Big Bang
Height:	6fr 6ins	6ft 6ins
Reach:	80ins	80ins
Weight:	Heavyweight	Heavyweight
Trainer:	Ismael Salas	Shaun George
Record:	15-1 (14 KOs)	25-1-1 (20 KOs)
Titles:	WBO 'Interim' heavyweight champion	None
Last fight:	KO loss v Zhilei Zhang (Apr 23)	KO victory v Zhilei Zhang (Apr 23)

Joe Joyce: In profile

Joe Joyce must improve on his defence, head movement, and remember he does know how to fight a southpaw when he faces Zhang.

During a long and impressive amateur career Joyce faced many types of opponents from either stance. 

To hear that he struggled with Zhang’s southpaw style during his defeat was quite the surprise. This is after all the same man who went the five-round distance with gifted left-hander Oleksandr Usyk in their World Series of Boxing encounter 10 years ago.

‘The Juggernaut’ has admitted in interviews since the loss to Zhang that complacency may have been an issue prior to the loss. His weight was also a problem. Joyce’s size and bulk is an important tool in his come forward style that had served him so well previously. 

Against Zhang he came in much lighter which, while positive for a Weight Watchers class, isn’t to his benefit in a boxing ring.

Joyce will always be a fighter who takes four shots to land one of his own such is the effectiveness of his work, but Zhang is a similar specimen to the Briton. 

The pressure is all on Joyce to turn round a one-sided loss into a much-needed win to revive his world title aspirations.

Assessing Joe Joyce:

Strengths:	Weaknesses:
Granite chin	Takes a lot of unnecessary punches
Bags of stamina	Can become predictable
Heavy handed	Occasional slow starter
Carries his power late in fights	Southpaw style

Zhilei Zhang: In Profile

A contractual rematch clause thwarted Zhang’s chance of fighting Tyson Fury in the summer for the WBC heavyweight title.

Zhang’s team fail to see why Joyce would want to fight their man again after the manner in how the first fight played out. 

The southpaw presented simple but effective problems for Joyce in April. It will be up to Joyce to adapt quicker in the rematch. Meanwhile Zhang will look to test out his opponent’s eye which he caused significant damage to five months ago. 

A world title shot is on the line for both men, and I can’t imagine Zhang choosing to fight any differently. 

Even if Joyce can avoid the left hand which caused great difficulty, he will still present a formidable task. 

Fast hands, powerful, difficult to push back and a great chin- Zhang is a mountain of a man that who may prove too steep a challenge for Joyce once again.

Assessing Zhilei Zhang:

Strengths:	Weaknesses:
Zhang is dangerous early	Technique can unravel late on
Powerful left hand	Defence can be broken down
Excellent chin	Tendency to fall short with punches
Good hand speed	Uncomfortable fighting on the back foot

View the latest Joe Joyce v Zhilei Zhang 2 odds

Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.