Zhilei Zhang had Joe Joyce’s number the first time, and stepped through the gears early on before producing an even quicker stoppage – this time more brutal – five months later in their heavyweight rematch to defend his WBO interim heavyweight championship against the Brit. It sets up lucrative bouts with the division’s elite names as he called out WBC titlist Tyson Fury post-fight.
Zhang does it again, quicker this time
- Zhang’s head coach Shaun George tells talkSPORT: “He’s a basic fighter, we knew what he was going to do. Joyce wasn’t ready for this – five months isn’t enough – that’s why he got caught. I want the world’s best next… Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury just wants to do exhibitions… I’d love the Anthony Joshua fight, Eddie Hearn talked but it hasn’t come to fruition.”
- Zhang in a matchup against former WBC world heavyweight titlist Wilder for the first quarter of 2024 is now reportedly on the table, after scoring knockout of the year contender to close Joyce chapter of his career
- Shrewd business: Queensberry promoter Frank Warren added the 40-year-old interim champion to his stable after the first fight in mid-April
- ZHANG: “I’m very happy everyone recognises my work again. Have to thank Joe for giving me this opportunity, just want to shut Fury up now… he talks too much, let’s do it. Doesn’t matter who’s next, they’re all going to sleep!”
- Joyce’s diminished punch resistance and defensive vulnerabilities on full display in ruthless rematch, but the 38-year-old insists he won’t retire after second consecutive defeat during Queensberry interview post-fight
Almost immediately, it felt inevitable Joe Joyce would tire quite rapidly if forced to constantly be on the defensive and scurry away from Zhilei Zhang’s patented left.
Zhang landed a left hand to the head and another to the body early on but Joyce flicked out jabs from distance in response, a sufficient answer. Everyone ringside knew more was needed, not least Derek Chisora as he barked orders while you heard cries of go forward from a crowd aware of what transpired five months prior.
It would likely happen again unless their man refused to let Zhang lead the dance, and take control of centre ring himself. Signs he was overthinking already in round one didn’t exactly bode well as far as gaining confidence and settling into a rhythm.
Plenty was said in the build-up about Zhang’s lethal left hand and he picked up the pace in round two, landing it more as you could feel the tension heighten within the crowd. For all the talk about adjustments, Joyce was already being outworked.
A four-punch combo landed flush for the champion, before they exchanged haymakers in the pocket and Joyce soon found himself pinned up against the ropes, absorbing an unanswered combination at the sound of the bell.
talkSPORT’s audio mics picked up Joyce’s head trainer Ismael Salas telling his charge to “go to the left side and be faster,” between rounds, but the damage was already done. He answered back in agreement but was visibly uncomfortable and it was far from a good visual as time almost seemed to slow down before round three began.
It proved the final round of a decisive heavyweight rematch. Joyce was too slow when entering into range, throwing combos or single shots, and Zhang’s right hand was now bouncing off the Briton’s head – cruel irony given the circumstances.
After being wobbled backwards by a left, whipping across his face as right hooks soon followed, Joyce’s hesitancy was seized upon and the end was devastating.
Joyce got caught clean with a right hook as he went to throw a right hand of his own, faceplanted and couldn’t beat referee Steve Gray’s ten count. If there were questions about the stoppage in mid-April, they were definitively answered this time around.
Much was made of the weight discrepancy last time out, so Joyce levelled the playing field and came in 25lbs heavier. It only made him slower, and played right into Zhang’s trap again on an evening where the Chinese justified his confidence.
He did exactly what he promised he would – three rounds earlier – securing precisely the sort of fights he’s long coveted in an arduous 20-year career from amateur days, Olympic medals to the paid ranks. 40 and only getting better with age.
Rest of main card, prelim results
Yarde not getting paid for overtime, on his return
- “I don’t believe in getting paid for overtime, but in terms of warming up… just getting warm. I don’t wanna be in there too long and get hit with stupid shots,” 32-year-old says after improving to 24-3 (23 KOs) in co-main event
- Joshua Buatsi has a domestic clash against European champion Dan Azeez on Oct. 21, but prevail in that headliner and Yarde may be next: “Buatsi is the name everyone’s been calling, his name has been attached to mine since we turned professional, gotta make it happen in 2024. I don’t know the future but definitely fight Buatsi next year,” Yarde tells talkSPORT
Back at the scene of his valiant, albeit unsuccessful world title challenge against unified world champion Artur Beterbiev in late January, Anthony Yarde started quickly and threatened an early finish against overmatched opponent Jorge Silva.
The crowd noise swelled briefly after watching him whizz a powerful combo, but referee Marcus McDonnell warned him for overextending his arms after punching. That sequence foreshadowed an anticlimactic ending, albeit one everyone expected.
Silva was a short-notice replacement, with Yarde’s original domestic-level opponent Ricky Summers withdrawing from a 10-round bout before fight week.
The adversary standing opposite him didn’t matter though, moreso it was about getting that ring rust off and a July-August timeline couldn’t be satisfied. Late September as the co-feature for Zhang-Joyce 2, would suffice.
Silva used the ropes to his advantage in R2, but the Portuguese looked several skill levels below him and soon enough the barrage continued in the subsequent round.
Body punching and uppercuts landed clean on the unheralded opponent, unable to move out of the way nor defend intelligently as he went down in the corner.
It looked like a push in real-time but the 40-year-old didn’t protest – a telltale sign of what was to come – and the official waved it off at the midway point of round two.
Itauma ices Boucetta inside a round
- Queensberry CEO George Warren: “Soon he’ll be fighting for titles, just gotta keep stepping him up slowly,” as Itauma moves to 5-0 after eight months in the professional ranks with third first-round stoppage victory
- Boucetta, who went six rounds with British cruiserweight Scott Forrest and 11-0 heavyweight pro Tommy Welch earlier this year, looked like a deer in headlights as Itauma’s punch power and hand speed startled him
- European, World youth amateur champion stayed behind after the main event to watch sparring partner and former amateur foe Aloys ‘Junior’ Youmbi make similarly short work (R1, 0:38) of undersized Erik Nazaryan
Highly-rated teenage heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma used poise, hand speed and bludgeoning power to score an emphatic first-round knockout after just 93 seconds against the normally durable Amine Boucetta, improving to 5-0 as a pro.
He vowed to get it done inside three, but needed less than one. Dropping him with a one-two combo early, a powerful flurry pinned Boucetta against the ropes shortly afterwards and soon the contest was over – much like his first two pro outings.
The poorly-kept secret is all but confirmed as the 18-year-old is now expected to return next month in another six-rounder against an opponent TBC as part of a heavyweight-packed Fury-Ngannou undercard in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
O’Leary wades through fire at times, but home and dry
Pierce O’Leary improved to 13-0 and successfully defended his WBC International light-welterweight title with a UD10 win (100-90, 99-92, 99-92) over Kane Gardner, in a one-sided scrap that grew over time into a fun firefight in the latter rounds.
O’Leary began as he meant to go on: furiously. Closing the distance quickly and intently on Gardner, you could see the challenger would much rather pace himself than be pressured into action — that right hand was landing early for the champion, staggering him back against the ropes before landing a series of left-hand jabs too.
It was an ominous start and the pressure continued into round two, Gardner flicking out a nice counter left upon occasion but being forced to box off his back foot against the ropes too often. A powerful flurry stumbled the 28-year-old back again and you could see his left eye swelling already as this challenge only got more difficult.
O’Leary’s right was again snapping Gardner’s head back in the third, before a four-punch combo and head-body flurries were visibly giving the challenger fits.
All he could offer in response was infrequent single counter shots, and he needed to be more aggressive to gain the Irishman’s respect rather quickly.
In the fourth, he unwittingly showed the pain those power punches had now caused. Defiantly shaking his head, insisting the body work hadn’t done its job yet grimacing through their exchanges walking forward, the body language told a different story.
O’Leary kept pushing him back, and the intense pace hadn’t slowed. Right on cue, Gardner enjoyed his best round in the fifth and finally started trading shots, catching O’Leary more frequently when they scrapped for dominant position in the pocket.
More aggressive and he needed to be, it almost was short-lived after a powerful left saw him badly hurt early in the sixth.
His legs wobbled and he somehow kept composed to stay upright, manoevuring around the ring as much as possible with O’Leary charging forward but unable to cut off angles and finish a stunned opponent right there.
No finish or knockdown, but that was close. O’Leary probed but couldn’t close the space for long enough in round seven, as Gardner was rightly on the defensive and successfully regrouped after holding firm despite that scare.
O’Leary knew, by this stage, he was well ahead on the scorecards and began some subtle showboating: bobbing and weaving his way off the ropes, flowing well and throwing uppercuts at short-range.
Gardner, to his credit, was more accurate with his punch output in the last minute or so but not enough to edge another competitive round.
You got the feeling O’Leary wasn’t fazed by his power either, because he willingly walked through some damage up close to unleash some himself.
Gardner landed a short right which snapped O’Leary’s head back in the final round, and you could hear the crowd boo as the 23-year-old danced his way out of the firing line for a few seconds – rather than stand-and-bang – composed himself again and a fiery finish was fitting given the way the second-half of this encounter had unfolded.
Parker forces Graidia to retire, calls for Yarde clash
- Zach Parker concedes he went into a “bit of a dark place” after sustaining broken right hand vs. John Ryder last November, sitting idly at home
- But now, thanks to motivation from friends and family, 29-year-old declares the fire in his belly has restored and he wants challenges across two weight divisions – super-middle and light-heavy – targeting world-level opportunities again before long after nightmare year
- Parker reveals openness to a potential Anthony Yarde showdown at 175lbs between Queensberry stablemates: “I watched Dan Azeez [against Graidia] and he couldn’t do that to him, I don’t see why not? We’re both coming off losses, so why not fight against one another?”
On his return after a 10-month absence, former WBO super-middleweight interim world title challenger Zach Parker boxed well and you could see him grow in confidence as the rounds wore on against Khalid Graidia.
Targeting the body in R1, the Derby contender chained punches together well in the second and in doing so invited danger from an opponent who possessed counterpunching threat in the pocket.
If he kept the fight at range, leading their dance off the jab and throwing more variety, he could start to think about a finish.
That began early in the third, as he landed some punishing short uppercuts, began increasing the intensity with higher punch output and forward movement.
The crowd were certainly engaged as his body punching continued, making Graidia miss and resorting to wild swings before a relatively quiet fourth.
Parker flickered the intensity back up in the fifth, landing a good combo in the pocket before being angered by a low blow. After a brief pause, they exchanged leather up close and predictably the 29-year-old was having much the better of the action.
In the sixth, Parker was content to trade at times and let his hands go in other spots as Graidia disguised the damage from absorbing so many body punches.
Besides when he had the Derby man backed up against the ropes, or caught him with his head exposed entering into an exchange, the Frenchman didn’t offer much resistance to consistently trouble Parker and they both knew it.
His trainer did too, evidenced by a distinctly decreasing volume from the 40-year-old’s corner as Parker continued to chip away at him. It felt inevitable and soon enough, it was over after seven completed rounds.
Other results
Teenage super-featherweight Royston Barney-Smith was assertive and a dominant winner on points (60-52) over six rounds against Engel Gomez, helped by a pair of knockdowns – one in the second, another in round three.
In the light-heavyweight division, Ezra Taylor scored a final round stoppage win over Joel McIntyre over the eight-round distance, as the Nottingham prospect improved to 7-0 with a fifth career knockout.
He won every round and the finish came in the final seconds of their battle, as the 29-year-old continues stepping up the gears against improved opposition.
Tommy Fletcher was left unsatisfied that he fell into the trap of a brawl with Alberto Tapia at times, but scored a whopping five knockdowns in the first four rounds of their scheduled six-rounder at cruiserweight.
Unsurprisingly, the Spaniard’s corner had seen enough and mercifully threw in the towel (R4, 1:28) to score the Norfolk Nightmare’s fifth stoppage in six fights as a pro.
In the night’s opener at welterweight, Sean Noakes scored a first-round knockdown and ended up a clear 59-54 points winner against Lukasz Barabsz.
Pictures via Queensberry unless stated, quotes source stated or procured by me
Mo and Sports 