Zhilei Zhang vs Joe Joyce 2 – Results & Post-Fight Report

Zhilei Zhang ruthlessly knocked out Joe Joyce in three rounds to retain his WBO Interim heavyweight title in their rematch at the OVO Arena, Wembley.

The pair met originally in April at The Copper Box Arena, and Joyce started as a warm favourite, but Zhang was dominant, first to the punch against a cumbersome Londoner, and with Joyce’s eye showing major signs of damage, the contest was called to halt during the fifth round.

After a tentative start by both in the first round, Zhang (26-1-1, KO21) began to display his power, troubling Joyce with some stiff shots in round two. Round three saw more of the same, with Joyce (15-2, KO14) slow to react, and with the seconds ticking down to end the frame, Zhang connected with a thunderous right hand that dropped Joyce heavily. He bravely tried to beat the count, but the referee wisely decided to stop the bout.

Anthony Yarde (24-3, KO23) returned after a gallant defeat to Artur Beterbiev in January for the unified light heavyweight world titles, and after Ricky Summers pulled out in favour of a fight with Ben Whittaker, Yarde had to settle for Jorge Silva (22-9, KO12) at late notice. ‘The Beast’ wasted little time, needing just under two rounds to take a stoppage win. An accumulation of punches left Silva unable to deal with what was coming his way, and he sat out the full count to hand Yarde victory.

Moses Itauma (5-0, KO3) dropped Amine Boucetta (7-9, KO0) twice on the way to a first round win in their meeting.

Pierce O’Leary (13-0, KO7) defended his WBC International super lightweight title, taking a wide points win against Kane Gardner (16-3, KO7). O’Leary overcame a cut in round five, and was a winner by 100-90, and two scores of 99-92.

Another man on the comeback trail was Zach Parker (23-1, KO17) The Derbyshire native was ruled out of his WBO super middleweight title eliminator with John Ryder due to a broken hand last November, and he made his comeback with a win against Khalid Graidia (10-13-4, KO2). Parker did as he pleased in the main, and eventually forced Graidia to retire after seven rounds.

Royston Barney-Smith (7-0, KO4) opened the TV portion of the card, and ‘Sugar Boy Roy’ decked Engel Gomez (8-18-1, KO4) twice on the way to a points win over six at super featherweight. Barney-Smith scored a body shot knockdown in the second, and a left uppercut had Gomez down again a round later, and he eventually settled for a 60-52 win on the referee’s card.

Tommy Fletcher (6-0, KO5) delighted his army of travelling fans, as he stopped Alberto Tapia (4-4, KO2) in the fourth round their cruiserweight meeting set for six. Tapia was down twice from body shots in the opening round, and a chopping left hand had him over again a round later, with another body shot making it four knockdowns. Yet another body shot had Tapia down yet again in round three, and multiple punches rained in from Fletcher in the fourth, and his corner finally threw the towel in.

Ezra Taylor (7-0, KO5) continued his education, and the light heavyweight stopped Joel McIntyre (20-8, KO5) with a second remaining in their eight rounder.

Sam Noakes was due to appear on the card, but his opponent pulled out, and no replacement could be found. His brother Sean Noakes (6-0, KO3) did appear on the bill, opening the show with a dominant points win over six at super welterweight against Lukasz Barabasz (2-9, KO1). Barabasz was knocked down in the second, but it looked more like a slip, and Noakes largely cruised to a 59-54 victory.