When is Joyce vs Zhang?
Joe Joyce will face the challenge of Zhilei Zhang on Saturday 15th April 2023 at Copper Box Arena in London.
The fight will be contested over 12 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which means there is no weight limit.
This contest is for the WBO heavyweight championship of the world.
Also, on the undercard will be Mikaela Mayer's and Christina Linardatou's contest and Denzel Bentley's and Kieran Smith's bout for the BBBOC British Middleweight belt.
Joyce vs Zhang stats
Joe Joyce steps into the ring with an undefeated record of 15 wins, zero loses and 0 draws, 14 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.
Zhilei Zhang will make his way to the ring with a record of 24 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, with 19 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 79%.
Joe Joyce is the younger man by 2 years, at 37 years old.
Joe Joyce fights out of the orthodox stance, while Zhilei Zhang is a southpaw.
Joyce is the less experienced professional fighter, having had 11 less fights, and made his debut in 2017, 3 year and 2 months later than Zhang, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He has fought 10 less professional rounds, 74 to Zhang's 84.
Joe Joyce goes into the fight ranked number 4 by the RING at heavyweight.
Zhilei Zhang is currently ranked number 13 by the WBO in the 201lb division.
Joyce vs Zhang form
Joyce remains undefeated as a professional, stopping 5 of his recent opponents.
In his last fight, he beat Joseph Parker on 24th September 2022 by knockout in the 11th round in their WBO Interim World Heavyweight championship fight at AO Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Previous to that, he had beat Christian Hammer on 2nd July 2022 by technical knockout in the 4th round at Wembley Arena, London.
Going into that contest, he had won against Carlos Takam on 24th July 2021 by technical knockout in the 6th round at SSE Arena, Wembley, London.
Before that, he had beat Daniel Dubois on 28th November 2020 by knockout in the 10th round in their CBC Commonwealth Heavyweight championship fight at Church House, London.
He had defeated Michael Wallisch on 25th July 2020 by technical knockout in the 3rd round at BT Sport Studio, London.
Zhilei Zhang has stopped 3 of his last 5 opponents.
In his last fight, he lost to Filip Hrgovic on 20th August 2022 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Previous to that, he had won against Scott Alexander on 7th May 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Nevada, United States.
Going into that contest, he had defeated Craig Lewis on 27th November 2021 by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Madison Square Garden Theater, New York.
Before that, he had drawn with Jerry Forrest on 27th February 2021 by majority draw in their 10 round contest at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida.
He had beat Devin Vargas on 7th November 2020 by knockout in the 4th round at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Florida.
Activity check
In terms of recent activity, Zhilei Zhang has been fighting more than Joe Joyce.
Joe Joyce last fought 6 months and 3 days ago, while Zhilei Zhang's last outing was 7 months and 7 days ago.
Joyce's last 5 fights have come over a period of 2 years, 8 months and 2 days, meaning he has been fighting on average every 6 months and 14 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 34 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 6.8 rounds on average.
Zhang's last 5 fights have come over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 20 days, meaning he has been fighting on average every 5 months and 23 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 29 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 5.8 rounds on average.
What time does Joyce vs Zhang start?
The fighters are expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 PM BST at Copper Box Arena, London, United Kingdom, which is 5:00 PM EST or 2:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America.
Who is showing Joyce vs Zhang?
Joyce vs Zhang will be broadcast on BT Sport 1 in the UK.
How do you stream Joyce vs Zhang?
In the UK you can stream Joyce vs Zhang on BT Sport, and all their boxing cards, via the BT Sport app and online player. This is included for free if you order BT Sport on Sky TV, TalkTalk TV or BT TV.
If you don’t have a TV package, it’s only available as a standalone app to existing or new BT broadband customers. Note, it’s not currently available on Roku or NowTV sticks, or games consoles.
The stream is free for existing BT Sport 1 customers, while 1 month (for tv) costs £25.
What are the odds on Joyce vs Zhang?
Joe Joyce is currently 1/10 (-1000) to win the clash outright, while you can get 11/2 (+550) on Zhilei Zhang if you fancy the massive upset.
View all Joyce vs Zhang Odds