Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang prediction: Who wins the fight and how?

Some fights it’s a must to attempt to promote for some cause or one other, or attempt to clarify why or how they could possibly be interesting to the typical fan. Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang isn’t a type of fights.

Two large previous hosses are going to sq. up on Saturday in London and bang away till somebody’s knocked out or we’ve accomplished 12 brutal rounds. That’s the lengthy and the wanting it.

So who wins?

Scott Christ (31-16)

I wish to begin off by saying that John misplaced his standings lead by selecting Jessie Magdaleno over Raymond Ford final week. He most likely received’t acknowledge this himself. And I do know what you would possibly say, “That’s daring speak for a last-place fats man,” however I used to be additionally the one one that mentioned Shakur Stevenson would get a stoppage win, so clearly I’m a secret genius.

There are three heavyweights on the planet I’d choose towards Joe Joyce proper now, and they’re Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, and Deontay Wilder. I’d be uncertain about Usyk on the fashion matchup, and semi-unsure about Wilder on the fashion matchup, however betting on Wilder’s energy has been a reasonably good guess to this point in his profession, and Usyk is an unparalleled technician at this weight.

Zhang is just not an important technician and I don’t assume he wins this slugfest, however he does have an opportunity, as a result of he’s a fellow fridge who hits onerous. I feel he most likely has the higher one-punch energy of the 2 of them. He might win some rounds. He might dent Joyce. However he received’t break him. Joyce’s stress and unbelievable fuel tank will make the distinction ultimately, however I feel we hear the scores, too. Joyce UD-12

Wil Esco (34-13)

It appears inevitable that the 37-year-old Juggernaut will sarcastically collide with a brick wall that he can’t run by way of, however I don’t assume it’ll be this explicit struggle. Joyce isn’t significantly quick or elusive, however the stress he applies has been an actual subject for the opponents he’s confronted to this point. I count on that to be extra of the identical going towards Zhilei Zhang, who additionally isn’t a quick or elusive fighter, nor defensive wizard. However that’s additionally what’s going to make this struggle a reasonably enjoyable one whereas it lasts. Each are two large males that don’t thoughts throwing bombs, and so they’ll each be within the line of fireside for the length.

However contemplating Zhang is coming off a loss, and being 39-years-old himself, I count on Joyce enters this struggle with much less inherent doubts and that lack of hesitation goes to permit him to get off first and extra authoritatively. Perhaps we get a little bit of a cagey opening spherical as a result of these are two large males that may crack, however as soon as issues warmth up just a little I feel Joyce takes over and places Zhang away. Joyce TKO-6

John Hansen (35-12)

If you happen to’re left-handed, Easter was final weekend, and I hope anybody who noticed the date had an exquisite vacation. However, for the Orthodox, Easter 2023 falls on this Sunday. And the timing couldn’t be extra acceptable.

One of many traditions of the day is cracking eggs. Everybody takes a hard-boiled egg dyed blood pink, and proceeds to smash them towards one another till only one surviving egg escapes unbroken. It’s a Conor Benn erotic dream come true, and a metaphor for the sequence of fights that led as much as this Joyce vs Zhang matchup.

These guys are going to smash towards one another till certainly one of them breaks. There’s little likelihood this struggle performs out some other manner. And, whereas I feel a really expert man would possibly finesse and approach his well beyond Joyce, I don’t consider anybody — apart from perhaps full drive Deonay Wilder — can break him. I assumed Daniel Dubois would possibly do it, however that struggle satisfied me that Joe Joyce is the hardest egg within the heavyweight basket.

Sure, I’ve seen his newbie struggle towards Sergey Kuzmin, and I do not know how placing headgear on prime of that adamantium cranium ended up with Joyce knocked down. Clearly, he’s not unbeatable, however he’s arguably the closest factor to indestructible within the sport right this moment. Zhang’s clearly powerful as hell, too, however he’s a barely older and barely worse Joyce-style fighter. Perhaps Joyce struggles combating a southpaw for the primary time since his fourth professional struggle? Loopy issues can occur when large boys sq. off, little doubt. However, give me the Juggernaut. Joyce TKO-10

Patrick Stumberg (36-11)

You simply gotta really feel unhealthy for the individuals who struggle Joyce; “The Juggernaut” is the child on the playground with the everything-proof protect who ruins make-believe time for everybody. Zhang is big, highly effective, technically adept, and possessed of bizarrely quick arms for a person of his stature, however Joyce has constantly confirmed capable of stare these types of weapons within the face and say “Nah.”

It actually sucks for Zhang, whose profession didn’t choose up steam till the final dregs of his athletic prime and who actually ought to be behind Daniel Dubois for a shot at Oleksandr Usyk. He shouldn’t must struggle by way of the boxing equal of getting trapped in a grain silo to succeed in the final shot at glory his physique can deal with. However, properly, he was the B-side towards Hrgovic and that’s how issues play out for B-sides. Joyce does his ordinary factor, absorbing inhuman quantities of punishment for a number of rounds till his physique assault and the power expenditure required to repeatedly drive Zhang’s large fists into Joyce’s face flip “Massive Bang” right into a sufficiently stationary goal for the killshot. Joyce TKO-8