Heavyweights Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang came face-to-face today in Las Vegas, this at Joyce’s trainer Ismael Salas’ gym. The two went at it a little bit in a verbal manner yet there was mutual respect shown. The fight, set for London on April 15, has really got fans excited and pumped up, with almost everyone expecting an explosion, a war.
The two men are so evenly matched, with them being the same height and around the same weight, with both guys having a proven chin as well as a fighting style that sees them willingly go into the trenches. In short, neither man will have to go looking for the other in this one.
Speaking with IFL TV, Joyce said Zhang will “get a beating.” Zhang said he is “going to London to blow up a tank.”
Both men promise there will be plenty of bombs thrown on the night.
“I see that he’s come all the way over here, and we’re gonna go all the way over there to the UK and he’s gonna get a beating,” Joyce, unbeaten at 15-0(14) said of his southpaw rival from China. “No, I believe he won’t (be able to buckle me). I believe I will get ahead [in the fight] and with all this work that I’m doing out here, I’m gonna knock him out and move on. But I think it’s a great fight, it’s got a great story. It’s building really well and I can’t wait to get the gloves on and get in the ring and stare him down and then the bell rings and you’ll see some action. There’s no better fight out there right now.”
Zhang, 24-1-1(19) and the older man by two years at age 39, has been beaten only by Filip Hrgovic (Joyce said he felt Zhang could have got the decision that night) and he said he is going to show the world “Chinese power” when he gets in there with “The Juggernaut.”
“I don’t care about [people saying he is] fast or slow, I’m here to throw a bomb,” Zhang, known as “Big Bang,” said. “Yes [I will show Chinese power] and the world will see that.”
Both guys have to know this will be a tough one, with Joyce saying as much even if Zhang did not. This fight really cannot fail to be brutal, entertaining and very testing of both men.
Can YOU pick a winner here?
