CARL FRAMPTON will be in his now usual role as boxing analyst for TNT Sports when the channel broadcasts the Zhilei Zhang-Joe Joyce rematch on September 23.
The second bout between the two heavyweights will take place five months after their first meeting at Copper Box Arena in London. Joyce, 15-1 (14), gets his chance at revenge at Wembley Arena on a pivotal night for his world title aspirations.
Last time it was southpaw Zhang who got the better of ‘The Juggernaut’ stopping him in the sixth round after a number of successful left hands from the 40-year-old caused Joyce’s right eye to swell up. After a ringside examination of the damaged eye from the on-site Doctor the fight was waved off by referee Howard Foster.
In the weeks and months since Joyce has confessed to taking Zhang too lightly and not having the best of preparations. The 37-year-old is now a slight underdog to beat Zhang, 25-1-1 (20), having been a long odds-on favourite first time around.
Speaking to Boxing News Frampton, who faced two rematches in his own career, answered whether he thought it would be repeat or revenge on September 23.
“I think revenge,” he revealed.
“Joe was very, very poor in the first fight. He’s admitted that. It looked like he’d never seen a southpaw in his life never mind prepared properly with southpaws in training.
“He doesn’t even have to do anything major. He can reverse that and win the fight. I fancied him in the first fight and obviously I got it wrong, but I think that he’ll win this fight. Although the eye was badly swollen and Joe was getting hit a lot, there was signs that Zhang was tiring a little bit just when the stoppage came, and Joe was having a wee bit of success obviously with one eye shut as well. I think that he can win this fight and I think that he will stop Zhang late.”
The winner of Zhang-Joyce 2 will then be in pole position to challenge for the WBO heavyweight title currently held by Oleksandr Usyk.