Joyce vs Zhang

Who won Joyce vs Zhang?

Zhilei Zhang beat Joe Joyce by technical knockout in the 6th round on Saturday, April 15th, 2023, at Copper Box Arena, London.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant there was no weight limit.

This contest was for the WBO heavyweight championship of the world.

Also on the undercard Denzel Bentley was victorious over Kieran Smith for the BBBOC British Middleweight championship, Mikaela Mayer beat Lucy Wildheart, and Sam Noakes defeated Karthik Sathish Kumar for the CBC Commonwealth Lightweight title.

Joyce vs Zhang stats

Back in April 2023, Joe Joyce stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 15 wins, zero losses, and 0 draws.

Zhilei Zhang made his way to the ring with a record of 24 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.

Joe Joyce was the younger man by 2 years, at 37 years old.

Joyce had a 2-inch reach advantage.

Joe Joyce fought out of the orthodox stance, while Zhilei Zhang was a southpaw.

Joyce was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 11 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2017, 3 years and 2 months later than Zhang, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 113 more professional rounds, totaling 113 compared to Zhang's 0.

Zhilei Zhang was ranked number 13 by the WBO in the Heavyweight division.

Joyce vs Zhang form

Joe Joyce had stopped all of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had beaten Joseph Parker on September 24, 2022, by knockout in the 11th round in their WBO Interim World Heavyweight championship fight at AO Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Prior to that, he had beaten Christian Hammer on July 2, 2022, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Wembley Arena, London.

Going into that contest, he had won against Carlos Takam on July 24, 2021, by technical knockout in the 6th round at SSE Arena, Wembley, London.

Before that, he had beaten Daniel Dubois on November 28, 2020, by knockout in the 10th round in their CBC Commonwealth Heavyweight championship fight at Church House, London.

He had defeated Michael Wallisch on July 25, 2020, by technical knockout in the 3rd round at BT Sport Studio, London.

Zhilei Zhang had stopped 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Filip Hrgovic on August 20, 2022, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Prior to that, he had won against Scott Alexander on May 7, 2022, by knockout in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Nevada, United States.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Craig Lewis on November 27, 2021, by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Madison Square Garden Theater, New York.

Before that, he had drawn with Jerry Forrest on February 27, 2021, by majority draw in their 10 round contest at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida.

He had beaten Devin Vargas on November 7, 2020, by knockout in the 4th round at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Florida.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Zhilei Zhang had been fighting more than Joe Joyce.

Going into this contest, Joe Joyce had last fought 6 months and 22 days ago, while Zhilei Zhang's last outing had been 7 months and 26 days ago.

Joyce's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 8 months and 21 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 6 months and 17 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 34 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 6.8 rounds on average.

Zhang's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 5 months and 8 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 29 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 5.8 rounds on average.

What time did Joyce vs Zhang start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 PM BST at Copper Box Arena, London, United Kingdom, which was 5:00 PM EST or 2:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America.

Who broadcast Joyce vs Zhang?

The ESPN+ show began at 3:00 PM EST / 12:00 PM PST. The BT Sport 1 broadcast of the card started at 7:00 PM (BST).

What were the odds on Joyce vs Zhang?

Joe Joyce was a 1/10 (-830) favorite going into the contest, while Zhilei Zhang made his way into the ring at 6/1 (+540) with oddsmakers.