Juggernaut Joyce derailed by ‘Big Bang’ Zhang in heavyweight shock
Plus, boxing’s relentless drug cheats and Zab’s last stand
Standing in centre ring, surveying the aftermath, with a swelled up, busted right eye, Joe ‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce cut a sad figure. In hindsight we may have expected China’s finest Zhilei Zhang to be a difficult proposition.
Joyce admitted afterwards that he struggled to get out of the way of the left hand. That’s true, we all saw it. When we lauded Joyce for his ability to get into a strong rhythm and absorb immense punishment, unfortunately we failed to factor in the potential for any accompanying facial damage.
An old heavyweight at 37, Joyce’s prime may have come and gone. Best to avoid the rematch and look for a fight with Dillian Whyte while Zhang goes off and lobbies for a mandatory title position.
Joyce was unable to walk Zhang down - Photo Credit: BBC
Many wondered how long Joyce could go on with his face-first strategy. He showed technical nuance against Daniel Dubois, employing his amateur skills, adopting a jab-and-move strategy. This time, the jab was laboured, footwork sluggish and eye rapidly closing; much like Dubois’ when Joe beat him during lockdown.
One thing that worked well for Zhang was his sprightly left hand. Such an effective weapon, it looked like Joyce had never faced a southpaw before. That wasn’t the case, given how Joyce had fought competitively with Oleksandr Usyk in the WSB before Usyk’s engine kicked in and the Ukrainian master took over. Joyce would surely have been au fait with lefties in the amateurs and during pre-fight sparring.
Before the fight, warming up in the dressing room, Zhang confidently swaggered. Ably handled by former pro Shaun George, the Chinese southpaw looked tight, compact and relaxed. In the ring he blocked a lot on the arms and gloves, landing his own counter shots in reply. Zhang is no mug. A big fast-handed unit, the 39-year-old is a former two-time Olympian so does not lack schooling. Joyce could’ve definitely troubled ZZ down the stretch but the eye was just too bad and the contest correctly halted.
Many wondered what would happen if Joyce, the immovable object, faced Deontay Wilder, the detonation machine. Last Saturday evening we got the answer: Wilder landing his right hand flush would not have been a pretty sight.
The undercard provided some big early finishes but was light on entertainment. Denzel Bentley’s career has surprisingly flourished since his stoppage loss to Felix Cash. Bentley went on to snare a world title shot at Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, delivering a more than commendable American performance. Cash, meanwhile, has disappeared off the radar and been unable to follow through on some step-up opportunities.
Bentley delivered a thumping first-round finish over Kieran Smith in their British middleweight title clash. Smith had fought hard against Troy Williamson in a previous scrap so was expected to go a few rounds. Bentley is in his second run as domestic boss. If Frank Warren can slide in and secure Denzel a crack at veteran European champion Matteo Signani then Bentley would be favourite to grab that title as well.
Mikaela Mayer was too swift for late-replacement opponent Lucy Wildheart, who tried hard but was unable to make a dent in the American. Moses Itauma boxed his way past a solid Ukrainian journeyman who provided the Londoner with some much-needed rounds. Sam Noakes had too much class and guile for unbeaten Indian Karthik Kumar who was dismissed in round two.
DO BOXING DRUG CHEATS TARNISH THEIR LEGACIES?
Fresh off the back of Conor Benn’s egg-fuelled PED exploits, Amir Khan was the latest high-profile pugilist to be accused of competing with an illegal substance in his system. Pleading his innocence, Khan is not averse to a public mistake or two, so it is not beyond reason that his naivety may have caused the issues.
With so many fighters being tainted with the brush of a failed drug test, it’s hard to know how to view their careers and legacy. Filling your system with a barrel load of PEDs is no better than wearing loaded gloves. Whenever a popular fighter is caught, his mates generally gather round and defend him for what is surely an oversight or adverse finding. Less celebrated juicers are castigated and calls echo to ban them for life.
Evander Holyfield was embroiled in the BALCO scandal
The likes of Evander Holyfield, James Toney, Canelo, Roy Jones Jr, Tyson Fury, Shane Mosley, Vitali Klitschko and many more have been smeared with drug offences of various gravity. Should we take these issues into consideration when assessing a fighter’s career? Even if someone pops once, their entire resume, or at least activities around the time, could be called into question.
ON THIS DAY…27 April 2013
Not quite an ‘on this day’ but scanning down Luis Collazo’s record I spotted a tasty card from 10 years ago. Collazo, as it happens, was back in business this Thursday just gone (19th April, 2023). It seems the southaw mover just cannot find a decent hobby to occupy his mind away from the ring.
A decade ago he already had five losses on the record when he knocked out Miguel Callist in round five of their welterweight tussle. Fight fans at the time could’ve been forgiven for thinking Collazo was past his sell-by-date even then!
In the Barclays Center main event that night, Danny Garcia (25-0) was busy pounding out a 12-round decision over Zab Judah. The fight was pretty close on the scorecards (bear in mind Judah was also knocked down) and the unbeaten champion escaped with his two world titles by the skin of his teeth. Judah’s career was pretty much done by this stage but he gave a very good account of himself and showed a lot of durability.
28-0 Peter Quillin knocked out Fernando Guerrero on the same card and Danny Jacobs continued his rebuilding process following the Dmitry Pirog loss with a KO of Keenan Collins.
NUTHOUSE NOTES
Dillian Whyte was ringside for the Joe Joyce fight, giving his two pence worth with Paul Dempsey, Steve Bunce and Carl Frampton on BT Sport. Frampton is a measured and astute pundit, while bungling Buncey brings a comedy element with his unfiltered one-liners.
After so many busy weekends of action, last weekend was a relatively quiet affair. This coming Saturday we look forward to a couple of quality cards. In Wales, Joe Cordina vies to win back the IBF crown from Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov.
Later in the evening, Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia engage in a superfight. A few weeks after David Benavidez defeated Caleb Plant, the PBC are delivering another exciting headliner, albeit on Pay-Per-View.
Thanks for reading! Drop a little heart or even a comment if you get a minute. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Speak to you all next week…
About Steve: Experienced boxing writer, author of 8 books and podcaster of over 400 eps. 15+ years in the sport. Covered hundreds of shows for newspapers and Boxing News magazine. Chief script writer for Motivedia channel. For enquiries: stevenwellings1982@gmail.com.
Gutted for Joe. We all knew he was basic but I honestly thought his steamrolling style would be to much for everyone bar Wilder, Fury and probably Usyk and even then he'd give them a tough night... Big Zhang outsmarted him and outmanned him and I really didn't think I'd ever see that! Joe can still win a title but they'll have to work a good route for him. All depends on whether he is still physically able after AJ/Fury/Usyk retire (which will be soon).