Bookmakers made Zhilei Zhang a slight favourite against Joe Joyce when they face off in their fight on Saturday 23rd September 2023 at OVO Arena Wembley, London, United Kingdom.
He is currently 4/5 (-130) to win the fight outright, while you can get 1/1 (+100) on Joe Joyce if you fancy the slight upset.
That means that oddsmakers think there is 53% chance of Zhang winning while giving Joyce a 47% chance.
Zhang opened as the favourite at 8/11 (-140) however, that price has shortened by 107/-100 (+90).
Joyce opened at 11/10 (+110) which has got wider by -9/10 (+110).
The fight is scheduled for 12 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which means both fighters don't have to make any weight limit.
This contest is for the WBO heavyweight championship of the world.
Zhang vs Joyce II Head To Head
Zhilei Zhang steps into the ring with a record of 25 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, 20 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.
Joe Joyce will make his way to the ring with a record of 15 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, with 14 of those wins by knock out.
The stats suggest Joyce has advantage in power over Zhang, with a 93% knock out percentage over Zhang's 80%.
Zhang is currently 3/2 (+150) to get the knockout, while Joyce is 11/4 (+280).
Zhilei Zhang is the older man by 2 years, at 40 years old.
Joyce has 2-inch reach advantage.
Zhilei Zhang fights out of the southpaw stance, while Joe Joyce is an orthodox fighter.
Zhang is the more experienced professional fighter, having had 11 more fights, and made his debut in 2014, 3 years and 2 months earlier than Joyce, whose first professional fight was in 2017. He has fought 10 more professional rounds, 90 to Joyce's 80.
If you think Joyce will win on points, you can get odds of 11/4 (+280), while Zhang is 5/1 (+500) to win on the scorecards.
Zhilei Zhang goes into the fight ranked number 4 by the RING at heavyweight.
Joe Joyce is currently ranked number 7 by the WBO and 6 by the RING in the 201lb division.
Zhang vs Joyce II betting form
Zhilei Zhang has stopped 3 of his last 5 opponents.
In his last fight, he defeated Joe Joyce on 15th April 2023 by technical knockout in the 6th round in their WBO Interim World Heavyweight championship fight at Copper Box Arena, London, United Kingdom. He was a 6/1 (+540) underdog going into the fight.
Previous to that, he had been beaten by Filip Hrgovic on 20th August 2022 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Going into that contest, he had defeated Scott Alexander on 7th May 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Nevada, United States.
Before that, he had beat Craig Lewis on 27th November 2021 by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Madison Square Garden Theater, New York.
He had drawn with Jerry Forrest on 27th February 2021 by majority draw in their 10 round contest at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida.
Joe Joyce has stopped 4 of his last 5 opponents.
In his last fight, he lost to Zhilei Zhang on 15th April 2023 by technical knockout in the 6th round in their WBO Interim World Heavyweight championship fight at Copper Box Arena, London, United Kingdom. He was a 1/10 (-830) favourite going into the ring.
Previous to that, he had won against Joseph Parker on 24th September 2022 by knockout in the 11th round in their WBO Interim World Heavyweight championship fight at AO Arena, Manchester. He was a 53/100 (-190) favourite going into the ring.
Going into that contest, he had beat Christian Hammer on 2nd July 2022 by technical knockout in the 4th round at Wembley Arena, London.
Before that, he had defeated Carlos Takam on 24th July 2021 by technical knockout in the 6th round at SSE Arena, Wembley, London.
He had won against Daniel Dubois on 28th November 2020 by knockout in the 10th round in their CBC Commonwealth Heavyweight championship fight at Church House, London.
Who's been more active?
If you think ring rust and activity is a big factor in this fight, Zhilei Zhang has been fighting more than Joe Joyce.
Zhilei Zhang last fought 5 months and 8 days ago, while Joe Joyce's last outing was 5 months and 8 days ago.
Zhang's last 5 fights have come over a period of 2 years, 6 months and 27 days, meaning he has been fighting on average every 6 months and 6 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 31 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 6.2 rounds on average.
Zhang is currently 3/2 (+150) to finish this fight in the 6th round, or 5/1 (+500) to win on points.
Joyce's last 5 fights have come over a period of 2 years, 9 months and 26 days, meaning he has been fighting on average every 6 months and 24 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 37 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 7.4 rounds on average.
Joyce is currently 11/4 (+280) to finish this fight in the 7th round, or +280 (+280) to win on points.
What’s the Latest Time I Can Bet on Zhang vs Joyce Pre Fight?
The fighters are expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 PM BST at OVO Arena Wembley, London, United Kingdom, which is 5:00 PM EST or 2:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America.
Where Can I Watch Zhang vs Joyce for In-Play Betting?
The ESPN+ show is expected to begin at 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST. The TNT Sports broadcast of the card is expected to start at 7:00 PM (BTS).
