PATERSON, New Jersey – Zhang Zhilei realizes it won’t be easy to upset Joe Joyce on Saturday night.
The powerful southpaw from China sees flaws in the unbeaten WBO interim heavyweight champion, however, that have instilled confidence in an experienced puncher who feels he is the more complete fighter entering their 12-rounder. Joyce and Zhilei will square off in a main event BT Sport 1 will televise and ESPN+ will stream from Copper Box Arena in London.
“Let’s see what happens in the fight,” Zhilei told BoxingScene.com through his translator. “Maybe his trainer did something special to him to correct his mistakes. If he corrects his mistakes, he’s a complete, solid fighter. If he still fights the way he fought before, ‘The Juggernaut’ will be broken down.”
The 6-foot-6, 256-pound Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) has walked through a lot of flush punches during his ascent to becoming the WBO’s mandatory challenger for champion Oleksandr Usyk. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist from London has overcome his very visible defensive flaws thanks to a granite chin and endurance that have served him well in the later rounds of his most noteworthy wins against Joseph Parker, Daniel Dubois and Bryant Jennings.
Joyce’s jarring jab, body punches and right hand have been the best offensive weapons for a fighter whose pressure tends to wear down his opponents.
“He’s a great boxer,” Zhilei said. “When you look at his previous fights, you see some things that he did very well. He has a tough chin and he has a good gas tank. He’s always putting pressure on his opponents. So, that’s what’s motivated me in this training camp to be the best version of myself. So, we’ll see him in the ring.”
The 39-year-old Zhilei (24-1-1, 19 KOs) performed impressively against a top opponent in his last fight. The 2008 Olympic silver medalist dropped Filip Hrgovic in the first round, hurt him more than once in the sixth round and tested the Croatian contender more than any of his first 14 professional opponents August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Zhilei lost on all three scorecards (115-112, 115-112, 114-113), but he believes he did more than enough to beat Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs) in an IBF elimination match that determined another mandatory challenger for Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs).
“It doesn’t make sense to me,” Zhilei said. “It’s true that Hrgovic threw a lot of shots. He threw more punches, but I blocked them. I landed clear. And when I hit him, it was accurate and clear. So, I don’t understand the scoring, but I know what fans think. That’s important.”
It is important, too, that Zhilei displayed his capabilities, even at an advanced age, three fights after extreme fatigue forced him to settle for a 10-round majority draw with Jerry Forrest in February 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Zhilei dropped Forrest (26-6-2, 20 KOs) once in each of the first three rounds, but he couldn’t finish Forrest off and allowed Forrest to take control in the second half of their bout on the Canelo Alvarez-Avni Yildirim undercard.
“I showcased my skill and my power in that fight,” Zhilei said of his performance against Hrgovic. “I let the world know what I could do. The world saw what I could do. And the result, to me, doesn’t matter anymore.”
Joyce chose to fight Zhilei in part because he hopes it’ll help prepare him to challenge the left-handed Usyk at some point.
“Maybe he looks at me as a steppingstone in the preparation for someone else,” Zhilei said. “But for me, I don’t really care. I just wanna win this fight.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.