Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) weighed in at 256 pounds, and challenger Zhilei Zhang (24-1, 19 KOs) weighed 278 lbs for their highly anticipated twelve-round main event this Saturday night, April 15th, live on ESPN+ and BT Sport at the Copper Box Arena in London, England.
Interim WBO heavyweight champion Joyce was trimmed down from the 271 lbs he weighed for his fight last September against Joseph Parker. The 256 is the lightest the ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce has weighed since his fight against Bryant Jennings in 2019.
Joyce struggled in that fight from the pressure Jennings put on him, and he didn’t show the power he’s shown in previous contests.
It’s likely that Joyce is hoping to use his lighter weight to outwork the bigger, stronger 6’6″, 278-lb Zhang because this isn’t the type of fighter that Joe wants to get in the trenches and slug with for twelve brutal rounds because this guy is too dangerous a puncher.
The winner of the Joyce vs. Zhang will stay in the running for an eventual world title shot against IBF, WBA & WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.
That fight isn’t likely to happen soon, as Usyk will be fighting his WBA mandatory Daniel Dubois next in the summer and then his IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic later this year.
The earliest the Joyce-Zhang winner can hope to get a title shot is in the first quarter of next year, and either holds the WBO mandatory slot. You have to expect the winner of Saturday’s fight to take another stay-busy match later this year rather than sit and wait for a title shot against the WBO champion next year.
“The next twelve months after Zhang. I’ll probably get back in training camp for a big summer fight, and then I’ll probably have a bit of time off, and then I’ll probably go back in during the new year or just before Christmas,” said Joe Joyce to Joe about his plans after thee Zhilei Zhang fight.
“Zhang first, and then we’ll think about it, but I guess the names I’ll be looking at are Usyk, and Fury; there’s a hint of Joshua as well. Wilder is in the mix as well.
“Usyk still is a hard fight because he seems to be very accurate in the fight, and his head movement, footwork, and he’s throwing a lot of punches as he showed against Joshua, and he’s very skillful as well. He’s got a very good boxing IQ, so he’s a tough fighter,” said Joyce.
“I think Joe is a difficult fight for anybody. If I was AJ, I wouldn’t advise him to fight Joe Joyce right now,” said Carl Frampton to Secondsout. ”
