Boxing Showdown: Joyce vs. Zhang 2 – Insights & Betting Markets
The second fight between Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang is set to take place on September 23 at the OVO Arena Wembley in London. After losing the first bout, Joyce quickly invoked the rematch clause. He is eager to win back his WBO interim heavyweight title. Join me as I preview this much-anticipated clash and share the latest Joyce vs. Zhang betting odds.
In a highly anticipated rematch, Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang are set to face off again. In their previous bout, Joyce lost his WBO Interim heavyweight title to Zhang due to a severe eye injury. The referee had to declare a technical knockout, marking the first loss in Joyce’s professional career.
Now seeking revenge, Joyce is expected to be more motivated than ever. On the other side, Zhang also has high stakes; he aims to build momentum for a potential future fight with Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. Both fighters have much to prove, making this rematch one to watch, and it’s a fight that will be popular with boxing betting fans.
Joe Joyce is a thirty-seven-year-old British professional boxer with an industrious unbeaten career until he met Zhang. He will be out for revenge for his eye, the title, and honour. The Juggernaut was scheduled to face some big names such as Antony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder needs an excellent result to restore his name and be in contention for the high-profile fights. These optics could make him more dangerous and aggressive than he was in the first fight but could also expose him to getting hurt.
Zhang has a lot of likeness to Tyson Fury as he isn’t ribbed or doesn’t look like a professional boxer with too much body weight. That should not deceive you as the Chinese athlete has great punching ability, and his fat gives him an extra cushion against opponents’ punches. He was the underdog heading to the first fight but handled himself well, shocking the reigning champion with a well-deserved victory. He will be motivated to win and long for his breakthrough to face Usyk or Fury, and a win and maintaining the title could be his best chance to make this happen.
Joyce vs. Zhang 2 – Full Fight History of Joe Joyce
Joe Joyce was a promising fighter from his early years as an amateur boxer, winning the GB Amateur Boxing Championship and the super heavyweight at the BA Championship in 2012.
In 2013, he won bronze at the European Amateur Boxing Championship. The 37-year-old won two consecutive men’s Super-heavyweight division titles at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and 2015. The Juggernaut went a step further in his final year as an amateur, enjoying success in the 2015 and 2016 World Series of Boxing, winning the gold medal at the European Olympic trials and appearing at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where he won silver.
He turned professional in 2017, enjoying three consecutive victories by knockouts before having his fight shot at a title and, in his fourth fight, contesting for the Commonwealth heavyweight title against Lenroy Thomas at the 02 Arena in London. He knocked out Thomas in the second round to win his first professional title in May 2018.
He won two more fights before facing Joe Hanks for the vacant WBA Continental heavyweight title at the Staples Centre in California, knocking him down in the first round. He retained his Commonwealth heavyweight title and won the vacant WBA Gold heavyweight title at the O2 Arena against Bermane Stiverne via technical knockout in the sixth round in February 2019.
In his tenth fight, Joyce faced Bryant Jennings on July 13 at the O2 Arena, where he won by a unanimous decision, with the bout lasting the entirety of twelve rounds for the first time in his professional career.
In his twelfth fight, Joyce faced Daniel Dubois on November 28 at the Church House in London, where he knocked down his opponent in the tenth round to win the British, Commonwealth, WBC Silver, WBO International, and the vacant heavyweight titles.
5. Lock: Joe Joyce (6ft6, 260lbs). The juggernaut is a force of nature and used to play rugby in his youth! He would be an immovable object and could use his experience to good use for the team. I imagine he would be an excellent tackler.
Backup: Zhilei Zhang pic.twitter.com/4L1MGqAA3R— Right back in the game (@BlueTig17585017) August 17, 2023
He was now a big name in the boxing scene in London and has titles to defend constantly. He had three successive fights, two of them at the SSE Arena in London, successfully retaining his titles. JJ faced Carlos Takam and Christian Hammer via technical knockout in the sixth round in the first and fourth in the second. He extended his undefeated run to fifteen bouts when he faced Joseph Parker at the AO Arena in Manchester, winning the vacant WBO interim heavyweight title. He knocked down his challenger in the eleventh round of September 2022 to reign as the champion.
In his first and only career defeat, the Juggernaut faced Chinese boxer Zhilei Zhang at the Copper Box Arena in London on April 2023. He, however, failed to defend his title with the match decided by a technical knockout in the sixth round. The bout had a rematch clause that Joe Joyce activated to schedule the second fight.
| Joe Joyce Fight Records | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Record | Venue | Result | Notes |
| 2023-09-23 | Zhilei Zhang | 25 1 1 | Wembley Arena, Wembley | VS | WBO Interim World Heavy |
| 2023-04-15 | Zhilei Zhang | 24 1 1 | Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick | L-TKO | Joyce suffered damage to his right eye; fight stopped following inspection by the ringside doctor. |
| 2022-09-24 | Joseph Parker | 30 2 0 | Manchester Arena, Manchester | W-KO | Parker cut over the right eye and stopped by a left hook to the chin. |
| 2022-07-02 | Christian Hammer | 27 9 0 | Wembley Arena, Wembley | W-TKO | Hammer down once in the 3rd round and three times in the 4th. |
| 2021-07-24 | Carlos Takam | 39 5 1 | Wembley Arena, Wembley | W-TKO | During the opening rounds Joyce had numerous punches to his head and body. |
| 2020-11-28 | Daniel Dubois | 15 0 0 | Church House, Westminster | W-KO | Dubois KO’d by a left jab, having taken a knee due to a fractured left eye socket. |
| 2020-07-25 | Michael Wallisch | 20 3 0 | BT Sport Studio, Stratford | W-TKO | Wallisch down once in the 2nd round and twice in the 3rd before the stoppage. |
| 2019-07-13 | Bryant Jennings | 24 3 0 | O2 Arena, Greenwich | W-UD | Jennings had one point deducted in the 10th round for a low blow. |
| 2019-05-18 | Aleksandr Ustinov | 34 3 0 | Lamex Stadium, Stevenage | W-TKO | Ustinov down in the 3rd round. |
| 2019-02-23 | Bermane Stiverne | 25 3 1 | O2 Arena, Greenwich | W-TKO | Stiverne down in the 3rd round. |
| 2018-12-01 | Joe Hanks | 23 2 0 | Staples Center, Los Angeles | W-KO | Hanks down rd 1 – California rules: KO. |
| 2018-09-30 | Iago Kiladze | 26 3 0 | Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario | W-KO | Kiladze down rd 2, rd 3 from body shot, rd 5. Kiladze stopped standing – California rules: KO. |
| 2018-06-15 | Ivica Bacurin | 30 13 1 | York Hall, Bethnal Green | W-KO | Bacurin ko’d via T-KO I round o at 1:54. |
| 2018-05-05 | Lenroy Thomas | 22 4 1 | O2 Arena, Greenwich | W-KO | Thomas down once in the 1st round and twice in the 2nd (ko’d by a left hook to the head). |
| 2018-03-17 | Donnie Palmer | 9 1 1 | York Hall, Bethnal Green | W-KO | Palmer KO’d by a right hook. |
| 2018-02-16 | Rudolf Jozic | 4 1 0 | York Hall, Bethnal Green | W-KO | Jozic ko’d by a right to the head. |
| 2017-10-20 | Ian Lewison | 12 3 1 | Indigo at The O2, Greenwich | W-TKO | Pro debut for Joe Joyce. Lewison’s corner threw in the towel. |
Joyce vs. Zhang 2 – Full Fight History of Zhilei Zhang
The current WBO interim heavyweight champion, hailing from China, has held the title since April of this year. During his amateur years, he clinched bronze medals at the World Championships in 2007 and 2009 and also captured a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics. As of May 2023, The Ring magazine ranks him fourth.
Boasting a record of twenty-seven fights, he has emerged victorious in twenty-five of them—twenty by knockout and five by decision. He has one draw and one loss, both by decision. Zhang’s winning streak of twenty-two consecutive fights ended when he drew against Jerry Forrest in his twenty-third match.
His first title bout as a professional was against Peter Graham in January 2017 at the Hebei Sports Venue in China. The vacant WBO Oriental heavyweight title was at stake, and he secured the win by knocking down Graham in the opening round.
In September 2018, during his twentieth fight at the Social Work College in China, he successfully defended his WBO Oriental heavyweight title, defeating Don Haynesworth via a third-round technical knockout. In November 2019, he retained the same title against Andriy Rudenko, winning by unanimous decision at the Casino de Salle Medicin in Monaco.
His unbroken run of twenty-two wins was interrupted in February 2021 when he drew against Jerry Forrest at the Hard Rock Stadium in the United States.
He faced his first professional defeat in August 2022 during his twenty-sixth fight at the King Abdullah Ports City in Saudi Arabia. The bout went the full twelve rounds and ended in a unanimous decision against him. However, this setback seemed to fuel his determination, as he returned stronger in his subsequent fight, defeating Joe Joyce and claiming the WBO interim heavyweight title.
Joe Joyce took some NASTY shots from Zhilei Zhang en-route to his first professional defeat earlier today. 😬 #Boxing #JoyceZhang pic.twitter.com/E8FaE30LQt
— Boxing DIRT (@BoxingDIRT) April 16, 2023
| Zhang Fight Records | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Record | Venue | Result | Notes |
| 2023-09-23 | Joe Joyce | 15 1 0 | Wembley Arena, Wembley | VS | WBO Interim World Heavy |
| 2023-04-15 | Joe Joyce | 15 0 0 | Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick | W-TKO | Joyce suffered damage to his right eye; the fight stopped following inspection by the ringside doctor. |
| 2022-08-20 | Filip Hrgovic | 14 0 0 | Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah | L-UD | Hrgovic KO’d in the first round |
| 2022-05-07 | Scott Alexander | 16 4 2 | T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas | W-KO | Alexander KO’d by a right in the first round. |
| 2021-11-27 | Craig Lewis | 14 4 1 | Madison Square Garden Theater, New York | W-TKO | Zhang wins heavyweight through a TKO |
| 2021-02-27 | Jerry Forrest | 26 4 0 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens | D-MD | Forrest down in rounds one, two, and three. Zhang lost one point for holding in round nine. |
| 2020-11-07 | Devin Vargas | 22 6 0 | Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood | W-KO | Zhang dominant in 4 rounds |
| 2019-11-30 | Andrii Rudenko | 32 4 0 | Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin, Monte Carlo | W-UD | Rudenko proved tough to beat, ending the fight by a unanimous decision |
| 2018-09-28 | Don Haynesworth | 15 2 1 | Changsha social work college gymnasium, Changsha | W-TKO | Zhang retains his title as WBO Oriental Heavyweight |
| 2018-07-20 | Eugen Buchmueller | 11 2 0 | WinnaVegas Casino & Resort, Sloan | W-KO | Buchmueller KO’d in rd 1 at 1:03 |
| 2017-09-23 | Byron Polley | 30 21 1 | Hartman Arena, Park City | W-TKO | Polley defeated in rd 1 via KO |
| 2017-08-05 | Nick Guivas | 13 7 2 | Claridge Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City | W-TKO | Guivas down twice in round one |
| 2017-05-26 | Curtis Harper | 12 4 0 | Boca Raton Hotel & Club, Boca Raton | W-TKO | Curtis Harper stopped in the first round |
| 2017-04-29 | Mark Brown | 15 5 0 | CenterStage@NoDa, Charlotte | W-KO | Brown KO’d, thus losing match to Zhang |
| 2017-01-21 | Peter Graham | 11 3 1 | Hebei Sports Venue, Shijiazhuang | W-KO | Graham was knocked down twice in round one. |
| 2016-12-10 | Galen Brown | 44 35 1 | Marina Bay SportsPlex, Quincy | W-TKO | Zhang wins through a KO |
| 2016-09-30 | Gogita Gorgiladze | 7 13 0 | Wenzhou Gymnasium, Wenzhou | W-TKO | Gogita Gorgiladze knocked down 3 times in the first round. |
| 2016-07-22 | Rodney Hernandez | 10 4 1 | Claridge Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City | W-UD | – |
| 2016-06-11 | Terrell Jamal Woods | 8 26 6 | Marina Bay SportsPlex, Quincy | W-TKO | – |
| 2016-05-13 | John Orr | 1 7 0 | DC Armory, Washington | W-TKO | – |
| 2016-03-26 | Tyree Ortiz | 5 2 0 | Oracle Arena, Oakland | W-TKO | Ortiz down three times in round three |
| 2016-02-20 | David Koswara | 12 13 2 | Lanzhou | W-TKO | – |
| 2015-11-21 | Juan Goode | 6 2 0 | Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Events Center, Las Vegas | W-UD | Zhang down in round four |
| 2015-08-15 | Dennis Benson | 2 6 1 | The Playground, Atlantic City | W-TKO | – |
| 2015-06-06 | Glenn Thomas | 1 3 0 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn | W-UD | – |
| 2015-03-14 | Eric George | 2 8 0 | Armory, Jersey City | W-UD | Third consecutive win |
| 2015-01-17 | Perry Filkins | debut | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville | W-TKO | Second consecutive win |
| 2014-08-08 | Curtis Lee Tate | 7 4 0 | Churchill County Fairgrounds, Fallon | W-TKO | Pro debut for Zhang. |
Joe Joyce and Zhilie Zhang – Overview of the First Fight
Joe Joyce and Zhilie Zhang had their first encounter on April 15 this year at the Copper Box Arena in London, England. The reigning Champion, Joyce, was defending his WBO interim heavyweight title against former WBO Oriental Champion. Heading to the bout, there was a lot of anticipation for Joe Joyce to dominate as he had just won the title in the previous match betting Joseph Parker and was undefeated. On the other hand, Zhang had just suffered a disappointing defeat against Croatian Filip Hrgovic, on record as the first-ever defeat of his career.
Joe Joyce lost weight heading to the fight in a tactical move by his team to make him lighter than his way heavier opponent, probably. The reason behind this was to make him last longer in the match and be more athletic against the giant opponent to try to tire him out to take the game longer and beat him when he was fatigued.
However, from the onset, it appeared Zhang was more than prepared for a brutal war and looked like a man trying to prove a point. He dominated the fight, coming close to sending the defending Champion to the floor in the first round. Joyce held his ground, providing an equally tough challenge in what could have been a tough match to call if it had lasted the whole length. Both sides had thrown a fair amount of punches bit in the fifth round, and it was clear that Joyce was hurt badly. The doctors had to come to have a look at his right eye in the break for the fifth heading into the sixth round but allowed him to start the round. The referee had to call the match off after the damage to the eye seemed to be affecting his sight, and he was too badly hurt to continue.
After suffering his first defeat, Zhang ended Joe Joyce’s impressive unbeaten run, and his reign as an undefeated professional fighter, and his title was lost. Despite the damage, the fight was pretty even and could have gone either way; that’s why Joyce could have felt disappointed to lose and activated the rematch clause. The Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang battle was set for a second fight; that would be exciting to see if Joyce would bring the challenge to reclaim his honour and respect just as Zhang did after losing his first fight or will Zhang establish his dominance and get his chance to face Fury or Usyk.
Joyce v Zhang 2 – Latest Betting Odds
The bookmakers with the best odds are expecting a very close fight. You can see the latest Joyce v Zhang betting odds below.
| Joe Joyce v Zhilei Betting: Fight Result | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fighter | Odds | Result |
| Zhang Zhilei | 17/20 | – |
| Draw | 25/1 | – |
| Joe Joyce | 6/5 | – |
Due to his win in the first fight, bookmakers such as bet365 have Zhang as 17/20 on to win the fight. Meaning if you bet £20, you’d see a return of £17 (£37 in total as your stake is returned). If you bet the same £20 on Joyce, the 6/5 odds mean you’d see a return of £24 (£44 in total when the stake is returned). Operators believe a draw is improbable, a £20 bet on the draw would see a return of £520.
Joyce v Zhang 2 – Round Betting Odds
If betting on the winner of the Zhilei Zhang v Joe Joyce fight isn’t challenging enough, the ultimate show of betting prowess is betting on the correct round in which the fight will end. It is much harder to do, but as you can see from the table below, the odds are much better.
| Joe Joyce v Zhilei Betting: Round Betting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Round | Zhilei Zhang | Joe Joyce |
| 1 | 90/1 | 80/1 |
| 2 | 50/1 | 55/1 |
| 3 | 45/1 | 55/1 |
| 4 | 30/1 | 40/1 |
| 5 | 30/1 | 40/1 |
| 6 | 20/1 | 35/1 |
| 7 | 18/1 | 35/1 |
| 8 | 18/1 | 25/1 |
| 9 | 18/1 | 28/1 |
| 10 | 20/1 | 35/1 |
| 11 | 22/1 | 50/1 |
| 12 | 50/1 | 50/1 |
Some punters who are confident that a fighter will win often hedge their bets and cover all the rounds. For example, if I backed Joe Joyce in every round for £1, it would cost me £12. I’m a winner if Joyce wins without the fight going the distance. The least I would receive is £26 (round 8 @25/1 & stake), a profit of £14. Likewise, the most I can receive is £81 (round 1 @80/1 & stake), a profit of £69. Of course, if Zhang wins or the fight goes the distance, I lose £12.
Joyce v Zhang 2 – Round Group Betting Odds
Another betting market that is popular when sports betting is Round Group betting. As the name implies, rounds are grouped together, making it easier than covering all possibilities.
| Joe Joyce v Zhilei Betting: Group Round Betting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rounds | Zhilei Zhang | Joe Joyce |
| 1-2 | 33/1 | 35/1 |
| 1-3 | 19/1 | 22/1 |
| 1-4 | 12/1 | 14/1 |
| 1-6 | 13/2 | 9/1 |
| 3-4 | 19/1 | 19/1 |
| 4-6 | 9/1 | 14/1 |
| 5-6 | 12/1 | 20/1 |
| 5-8 | 9/2 | 9/1 |
| 7-8 | 8/1 | 16/1 |
| 7-9 | 6/1 | 11/1 |
| 7-12 | 3/1 | 6/1 |
| 9-12 | 5/1 | 5/1 |
This type of bet is very useful as it enables you to cover several scenarios in a single bet. For example, I feel that Zhang will win in the later stages of the fight. I can place a bet that he will win between Round 9 and 12. If that happens, I will receive over 5x my stake (5/1 & stake).
Joyce v Zhang 2 – Method of Victory Betting Odds
Another popular market is predicting the method of victory. This bet is not affected by the round, so it is much more forgiving, but as a result, the odds are lower.
| Joe Joyce v Zhilei Zhang Betting: Method of Victory Betting | |
|---|---|
| Method of Victory | Odds |
| Zhilei by KO/TKO or Disqualification | 8/5 |
| Joyce by KO/TKO or Disqualification | 7/2 |
| Draw | 25/1 |
| Joe Joyce by Decision/ Technical Decision | 3/1 |
| Zhilei Zhang by Decision/ Technical Decision | 9/2 |
If you feel the fight will go the distance, this is the bet for you. Joe Joyce is 3/1 to win on points, whereas Zhilei Zhang is 9/2. This means that if the fight goes all the way, the bookmakers feel that Joe Joyce will get the decision from the scorecards.
In a strategic misstep that may have been either calculated or inadvertent, Joe Joyce’s camp erred in their game plan to bring the defending champion into the ring at a lighter weight than usual. While the logic behind enhancing his agility to exhaust his adversary seemed sound on paper, it proved ineffective against Zhang. Although carrying more weight, the Chinese fighter demonstrated remarkable athleticism that matched Joyce’s pace. Zhang delivered the more impactful blows and appeared to be in superior physical condition and command throughout the contest.
“It’s easy to make a case for either fighter in this bout, but with a home crowd behind him, I’m going for a Joe Joyce win here in round 8.” – Luke Andrews, Betting Expert – UK Market.
I anticipate that Team Joyce will be the first to recalibrate their fight strategy. They’ll likely permit Joyce to bulk up, a tactic reminiscent of what Deontay Wilder employed when squaring off against Tyson Fury. The weight variable has evolved into a compelling strategic element that fighters are leveraging to their benefit. A heavier build often provides an edge in absorbing blows more effectively.
The optimal adjustment for Joyce would be to bolster his durability; with enhanced defence, he could unleash devastating punches and potentially stage a comeback for the championship title.
