Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang was a series of two

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

matches at

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

contested between Joe Joyce, and Zhilei Zhang for the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

championship. The bouts both took place in London, England. The first bout was held at the

Copper Box Arena The Copper Box Arena is a multi-sport venue built for the 2012 Summer Olympics, located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, England. Previously known as the Handball Arena, it was renamed because, aside from handball, it hosted mo ...

in the

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City developm ...

on 15 April 2023. The second bout was held at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

on 23 September 2023.

Background

Joe Joyce won the WBO Interim World Heavyweight title in a September 2022 bout against Joseph Parker. Zhang's last bout before facing Joyce was in August 2022 when he suffered his first loss to Croatian

Filip Hrgović Filip Hrgović (born 4 June 1992) is a Croatian professional boxer who has held the WBC International title in 2018 and the IBF International title in 2020. As an amateur he won the gold medal at the 2015 European Amateur Boxing Championships a ...

Initial bout

Zhang defeated Joyce via

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in the six round and won the

interim heavyweight title.

Fight card

Source:

Aftermath

Following Zhang's victory, reports stated that a bout between himself and

Tyson Fury Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Council, WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and ''The Ring (magazine), The Ring'' ...

were being discussed. On 29 June an immediate rematch was announced for 23 September at

in London, England for the same title. Tyson Fury took to social media to offer Joyce sparring following the announcement.

Rematch

The rematch for the title took place at Wembley Arena on 23 September. Zhang retained his interim heavyweight title and defeated Joyce in the third round via

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

Fight card

References

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