ALTHOUGH it may not be fashionable or considered “the done thing” to praise a heavyweight for their technical ability, especially a 40-year-old one from China, tonight (September 23) should be the night that Zhilei Zhang is rightfully celebrated; celebrated for not only defeating Joe Joyce for a second time but this time showcasing a nearly flawless display of technical excellence.
More than just a repeat, or a one-punch deal, or even a display of heavyweight power, Zhang methodically dismantled Joyce from round one before securing the victory with a stunning southpaw right hook in the third. That punch, arguably the best Zhang has ever thrown, dropped Joyce for the first time in his professional career and prevented him from getting up before referee Steve Gray reached the count of ten.
As impressive as that final shot was, Zhang’s performance was about much more than that. Although he was already impressive in their first fight in April, where he inflicted significant damage on Joyce’s face, Zhang, now 26-1-1 (21), was notably improved tonight.
Tonight, despite expecting Joyce to try something different, Zhang stuck to what worked in their first fight. This meant he remained patient, calculated, and never rushed to unleash his left hand, knowing it would inevitably find its target whenever he chose to throw it. One could even argue that Zhang, throughout the three rounds he shared with Joyce, was as close to perfection as a heavyweight can be while facing another world-ranked heavyweight. In round one, he allowed Joyce to move and analyzed any signs of improvement or adjustment in his opponent. Then, in the second round, Zhang became more aggressive with his punches, particularly with his left hand, a key punch against Joyce. Despite the Londoner attempting to evade the left cross by moving to his left in the first round, he didn’t move enough in the second round. Additionally, his defense was never tight enough, and his reactions were not quick enough to avoid the left hand. Consequently, Joyce was staggered by the Zhang’s left hand early in the round and faced trouble again from the same shot. It seemed that no matter how obvious or basic the execution was, Joyce could not avoid Zhang’s quickest and most powerful weapon.
In many ways, due to the frequency at which this punch landed, we were all, including Joyce, deceived into a false sense of security by Zhang. This was ultimately proven in round three when Zhang, having previously used the left cross as a single powerful shot, decided to follow it this time with an immediate right hook. The right hook landed on Joyce’s jaw, causing him to be in an unfamiliar position in the boxing ring.
Down there, where few ever expected him to be, Joyce appeared confused and hurt. His toughness, which he had relied on for so long and perhaps too much, had finally failed him at the worst possible time. Moreover, what disappeared long before his durability was his self-belief. This became evident on the stool between rounds two and three when Joyce seemed almost hesitant to get off his stool and face Zhang, who stood menacingly in his corner, in the center of the ring for the third round. At that moment, one couldn’t help but recall Joyce’s choice of music for his entrance: Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” performed by Jeff Buckley. The hope, at the time, was that Joe Joyce would be exclaiming “hallelujah” at the end of the night, having avenged his earlier loss to Zhang and erased the blemish on his professional record. However, Joyce tonight found his own god in the form of Zhilei Zhang, a technically skilled and powerful heavyweight who, despite Joyce’s own talents, seems to have his number and the ability to dictate the course of their encounters.