Joe Joyce knocked out by China’s Zhilei Zhang in third round as he loses heavyweight rematch | Boxing News
Joe Joyce lost his rematch with Zhilei Zhang to make it back-to-back defeats to the Chinese heavyweight, who will now look to a clash with Tyson Fury.
Zhang shattered Joyce’s unbeaten record with a sixth-round stoppage in April, with the British fighter coming into Saturday’s Wembley Arena bout at his career-heaviest as he sought revenge.
But this performance was even more convincing from Zhang, who ended the fight with a brutal knockout in the third round.
Joyce is counted out by the referee
Joyce looked comfortable in the opening stages of the contest, circling away to his left to avoid Zhang’s left hand in a relatively quiet first round.
But Zhang came out with much more intent in the second round, actively closing down the distance between the two fighters to get within range of Joyce.
A left-right combo stunned the Londoner, before a straight left hand rocked Joyce’s head back as he struggled to make it to the end of the round following a late flurry from Zhang.
Joyce tried to shake off the cobwebs at the start of the third, but a double jab saw Zhang wrestle back the momentum before a stunning end to the contest.
Zhang drew Joyce forward with a left hand, before catching Joyce flush with a crunching right hand, dropping the Londoner almost face first into the canvas.
Joyce valiantly tried to make it to his feet in time, but could not quite make the count as Zhang retained the WBO interim title.
