Defeating Joy Joyce in front of his hometown crowd tonight, Zhilei Zhang stunned the boxing world. At the post-fight interview, Joyce didn’t have much of a choice but to accept the failure and apologize to British boxing fans.
At the Copper Box Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, Zhang, and Joyce engaged in a thrilling heavyweight fight. Big Bang’s strength knocked Juggernaut out of the battle in the sixth round, forcing the referee to end the fight.
Two absolute warriors who deserve all the credit in the world. Joyce will be back no questions.
Congratulations to Zhilei Zhang whose been an absolute credit to himself pic.twitter.com/E32DTD900m
— Frank Warren (@FrankWarren) April 15, 2023
What did Joyce have to say about his unexpected loss to Zhilei Zhang?
Joyce had a 15-0 record and was undefeated before his bout against the Chinese heavyweight. In front of the London crowd, it was only reasonable to assume that Juggernaut would easily win and move closer to a shot at the world championship. The local hero, however, failed after suffering terrible eye edema.
In the post-fight press conference, the British boxer expressed dissatisfaction with his performance saying, “I am disappointed with my performance. It was a good fight, but I could have done better.”
Zhilei Zhang has beaten Joe Joyce ✅
Fantastic performance right from the opening bell 🔔#FightNight | #JoyceZhang pic.twitter.com/Mq0Pi2iQmh
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) April 15, 2023
The 37-year-old fighter had just defeated Christian Hammer and Joseph Parker in 2022, but Zhang ultimately displayed amazing power against the boxer fighting in an orthodox stance. Joyce seemed utterly powerless against the might of the Big Bang.
“I have not fought against a southpaw for so long. Credit to him. He is a good fighter and I gave it my all. But I expected to win. I would like to apologize to all my fans and my supporters. I will be back and my journey is not over.” Joyce added.
Joe Joyce took some NASTY shots from Zhilei Zhang en-route to his first professional defeat earlier today. 😬 #Boxing #JoyceZhang pic.twitter.com/E8FaE30LQt
— Boxing DIRT (@BoxingDIRT) April 16, 2023
It will take some time for Joyce’s eye to heal. As a result, the British boxer’s quest to take on Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua, or Tyson Fury has been put on hold.
Did you catch Joy Joyce and Zhilei Zhang’s fight? If so, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
