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 reside London crowd. The scheduled 12 rounder, nonetheless, didn’t get previous the sixth; for the arduous hitting, 25-1-1 Zhang landed so many arduous lefts on Joyce that the combat needed to be stopped. It was a tricky loss for Joyce, to make certain, however maybe one he might study from. As for Zhang, the New Jersey primarily based fighter – by the use of China – is now one of many main gamers within the heavyweight division
Zhang began the festivities off by protruding his southpaw jab instantly within the first. Zhang was additionally in a position to hearth and land properly through the opening chapter. Joyce acquired rocked arduous within the second, and wobbled from the blow. Strangely sufficient, Joyce’s personal pictures seemed torpid. On prime of that, he was a straightforward goal for Zhang, displaying little or no motion. With that being mentioned, Joyce had a significantly better third. Zhang was actually in a position to 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 – nevertheless it was the straight left of Zhang that instructed the story of the spherical. Joyce’s face was trying crushed up. With that being mentioned, Joyce got here again sturdy within the fifth. The subject 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 wished to win the combat. At the start of the sixth, the ring physician took a have a look at Joyce’s face. The combat was allowed to proceed in the intervening time. Shang was in a position to land arduous 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 happy today,” Zhang instructed iFL TV after the combat. “Since I hit him with the first couple of shots in the first round I knew he couldn’t make it.” With that being mentioned, 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 mentioned of WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Fury. “He will go down.” Fury, in fact, might have one thing to say about that.
