Ibrahim Oladamola
Joe Joyce was dealt a major blow in his pursuit of a world title shot as he suffered a stunning stoppage defeat to China’s Zhilei Zhang at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday night.
The Juggernaut relinquished his WBO Interim belt as his 39-year-old opponent produced a commanding display to force the referee to bring the contest to a halt in the sixth round.
Severe swelling to the eye of Joyce told the story of Zhang’s incredible power, the damage eventually proving too much as Howard Foster was forced to step in at the midway point.
Build-up to the fight had forecast a potential match-up with the likes of Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua for Joyce, but this was Zhang’s night and the victor made known his own intentions to chase down the title holders.
“I’m just disappointed with my performance, I think the right hand he kept hitting me with I couldn’t get out of the way,” Joyce says in the ring post-fight.
“I just couldn’t get away from his left hand, I kept on getting hit so I was disappointed and I’d like to apologise to all of my fans and supporters. But I also want to thank you for coming down here, I’ll be back, my journey’s not over this is just a hurdle I may have tripped over so I’ll be back.
