Zhilei Zhang looks to double the 340 million views received for the first Joyce fight
Heavyweight boxing is getting mainstream attention in Asia, specifically China, as they now have an interim WBO champion who is looking to one day soon become a full champion or, better yet, a unified one. Forty-year-old Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KOs) is making a ton of noise in his home country and will look to keep that momentum going on Saturday night against Joe ‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs).
It was in 2021 in NYC, after defeating Craig Lewis, that fight fans started to notice Zhang and the dozens of supporters he brought with him to his events. People began to pay attention but were still weary as Zhang was older than some of the contenders in the heavyweight division. Although he lost to Filip Hrgovic in August 2022, it was a debatable decision and one the majority of fans felt should have gone in Zhang’s favor. Nevertheless, in April, Zhang got an opportunity to fight Joyce for the interim WBO title.
Although many fans and insiders felt Zhang had a good shot at beating Joyce, when it came to fight night, there was a slight lean in favor of the Englishman, with the face-off taking place in the United Kingdom. As soon as the bell rang, you could tell it would be a long night for Joyce. The southpaw Zhang was landing some big shots to Joyce’s right eye, leading to the fight being stopped. Although Zhang was clearly winning, one of the judges had Joyce ahead, which made everyone raise an eyebrow.
Zhang’s reaction to the scorecard was exactly how everyone else watching the fight reacted. “I did not know that (being down on one scorecard) until pretty recently. Looking back, I always want to capture destiny with my own hands and not leave it up to the judges. I’ve been doing this since my pro debut. If it goes 12 rounds, I feel like they will favor Joe, so I always look to win in my own way,” said the heavyweight contender.
Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce 2 will stream live, September 23 on ESPN+
Although one judge had the fight for Joyce before the stoppage, the fact is that Zhang won the interim title, and his growing popularity went to another level. Zhang was already getting notoriety back in his home country of China, but after beating Joyce, the social media following of the event grew to hundreds of millions. “In terms of the popularity, I’ve been doing okay the past few years. After my last fight, my popularity has gone up, and looking at some official data, my first fight with Joe Joyce in clicks and hashtags all together reached 340 million views in total. So I believe the second fight will be a lot bigger than the first,” said Zhang.
The new growth of social media following will carry over to this second fight with Joyce, which Zhang openly admitted that he didn’t want to go through, but Joyce activated the rematch clause. Zhang felt the fight was one-sided, and the rematch would be no different. Although it will be hard to get up for a fight that he had no desire to participate in, Zhang stays sharp even on his off time. He often visits the pistol range, translating to what he must do in the ring with technique, patience, and precision.
Personal feelings aside, Zhang still prepares for his fight as if he hadn’t fought Joyce before. He knows that something similar will have to occur for the result to be the same, as leaving it in the hands of the judges can be risky. “When I prepare for this fight, we anticipate everything Joe will bring to the table. He will either put on more weight, throw more punches, or have a bigger gas tank. Whatever he brings, we will deal with it pretty easily.”
Zhang continued, “I have no idea why he would ask for a second fight to begin with. Everyone saw what I did to him in the first fight, but if he wants it, I can show him again how I did it.”
On Saturday, Zhang looks to close the chapter on Joyce with a big win, and if you’ve never seen him fight and are curious about what you can expect, he kept it simple: “Both of us will be more prepared this time, and the mentality is different. I believe this fight is going to be more intense and explosive. Tune into ESPN+ and witness Chinese power once again.”
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