| Fight Name: | Joe Joyce vs. Zhilei Zhang |
| Fight Date: | 15 April 2023 |
| Location: | Copper Box Arena, Hackney Wick, London, UK |
| Titles: | WBO interim heavyweight title |
| Fighter1: |  Joe Joyce |
| Nickname1: | "Juggernaut" |
| Hometown1: | London, England UK |
| Record1: | 15–0 (14 KOs) |
| Height1: | 6 ft 6 in |
| Weight1: | 255.7 lb |
| Style1: | Orthodox |
| Recognition1: | WBO Interim Heavyweight Champion TBRB No. 2 Ranked Heavyweight The Ring No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight |
| Fighter2: |  Zhilei Zhang |
| Nickname2: | "Big Bang" |
| Hometown2: | Zhoukou, Henan, China |
| Record2: | 24–1–1 (19 KOs) |
| Height2: | 6 ft 6 in |
| Weight2: | 271.6 lb |
| Style2: | Southpaw |
| Recognition2: | WBO No. 13 Ranked Heavyweight |
| Result: | Zhang wins via 6th-round TKO |
Joe Joyce vs. Zhilei Zhang was a professional boxing match contested on for the WBO interim heavyweight title.[1] [2]
Joe Joyce won the WBO Interim World Heavyweight title in a September 2022 bout against Joseph Parker.[1] Zhang's last bout before facing Joyce was in August 2022 when he suffered his first loss to Croatian Filip Hrgović, after a close-fought battle where he lost by unanimous decision in what was described as a "generous" decision by broadcaster Sky Sports after a "bizarre" performance by Hrgović.[3] [4] [1]
The bout was held at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 15 April 2023.[1] [2] [5]
Repeated heavy shots from Zhang caused swelling above Joyce's right eye causing the fight to be stopped following an inspection by ringside doctor after the 6th round,[6] giving Zhang a technical knockout victory.[7] [8]
Following Zhang's victory, reports stated that a bout between himself and Tyson Fury were being discussed.[9] On 29 June an immediate rematch was announced for 23 September at Wembley Arena in London, England for the same title.[10] Tyson Fury took to social media to offer Joyce sparring following the announcement.[11]
| Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | Zhilei Zhang | def. | Joe Joyce (c) | 6/12 | 1:23 | ||
| Lightweight | Mikaela Mayer | def. | Lucy Wildheart | 10 | |||
| Heavyweight | Moses Itauma | def. | Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko | 6 | |||
| Lightweight | Sam Noakes (c) | def. | Karthik Sathish | 2/12 | 1:17 | ||
| Middleweight | Denzel Bentley | def. | Kieran Smith | 1/12 | 0:45 | ||
| Welterweight | Eithan James | def. | Georgi Velichkov | 6 | |||
| Super-lightweight | Sonny Ali | def. | Richard Helm | 6 | |||
| Light-heavyweight | Seth Gyimah | def. | Darryl Sharp | 4 | |||
| Middleweight | Joel Kodua | def. | Dale Arrowsmith | 4 | |||
| align=center | Country | align=center | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|
| BT Sport | |||