By: Sean Crose
The 15-0 Joe Joyce was anticipated to maintain his juggernaut of a profession cruising alongside Saturday when he battled fellow heavyweight contender Zhilei Zhang in entrance of a stay London crowd. The scheduled 12 rounder, nevertheless, didn’t get previous the sixth; for the laborious hitting, 25-1-1 Zhang landed so many laborious lefts on Joyce that the combat needed to be stopped. It was a tricky loss for Joyce, to make sure, however maybe one he may be taught from. As for Zhang, the New Jersey based mostly fighter – by means of China – is now one of many main gamers within the heavyweight division
Zhang began the festivities off by protruding his southpaw jab immediately within the first. Zhang was additionally capable of fireplace and land properly through the opening chapter. Joyce acquired rocked laborious within the second, and wobbled from the blow. Unusually sufficient, Joyce’s personal pictures seemed torpid. On high of that, he was a straightforward goal for Zhang, displaying little or no motion. With that being stated, Joyce had a a lot better third. Zhang was actually capable of have his moments, however Joyce’s exercise and punch output had improved significantly from the 2 earlier rounds.
Joyce threw and landed rapidly and properly within the fourth – but it surely was the straight left of Zhang that advised the story of the spherical. Joyce’s face was trying crushed up. With that being stated, Joyce got here again robust within the fifth. The difficulty was that he nonetheless was getting caught by that left of Zhang’s. He wanted to play Jack Dempsey to Zhang’s Jess Willard if he needed to win the combat. Originally of the sixth, the ring physician took a take a look at Joyce’s face. The combat was allowed to proceed in the intervening time. Shang was capable of land laborious once more about midround, and the physician was known as again in. A second or two later, the combat was stopped.
“I’m very excited and completely happy right this moment,” Zhang advised iFL TV after the combat. “Since I hit him with the primary couple of pictures within the first spherical I knew he couldn’t make it.” With that being stated, Zhang made it clear he’s now gunning for a world title. Naturally the identify of Tyson Fury was introduced up.” He doesn’t have that chin,” Zhang stated of WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Fury. “He’ll go down.” Fury, after all, could have one thing to say about that.
