In the early morning of April 16, Chinese heavyweight brother "Big Bang" Zhang Zhilei ignited and won in the United Kingdom, competing for the gold belt in the hands of the current WBO heavyweight (over 91 kg) interim world boxing champion Joyce. Now that Zhang Zhilei is nearly forty years old and his body is no longer at his peak, many fans also regard this match as the most crucial fight in Zhang Zhilei's career, and the winner will have the opportunity to challenge the WBA, WBO, IBF world boxing champion Usyk.
Joyce (left), Zhang Zhilei (right)
Although Joyce's career record of winning 14 (T) KO in 15 games is terrifying, Zhang Zhilei performed very well when facing the fierce Hergovich, who won all 14 battles, in August 2022, and played an opponent for a second count, and the final loss is also controversial, so many martial arts fans have confidence in Zhang Zhilei.
This time Joyce is sitting at home, which is undoubtedly an advantage for him. According to foreign media reports, the game weighed, Joyce's weight is 116 kilograms, Zhang Zhilei is 126 kilograms, compared to the last match with Parker, Joyce can be described as a significant weight loss, it is likely that this game, he intends to use the way of wandering to consume Zhang Zhilei's physical energy.
Joyce has always been known for resisting fights, and before the game, Zhang Zhilei also said that he would break Joyce's defense like an armor-piercing bullet, can Zhang Zhilei get his wish this time?
In the first round of the match, Zhang Zhilei took the lead after testing each other with Joyce, hitting the opponent's face with consecutive heavy blows, occupying the initiative in the arena. However, in order to preserve his physical strength, Zhang Zhilei did not rush to pursue, but continued to maintain the rhythm of the game, and Joyce did not attack too much in the first leg. But Zhang's thump has already left Joyce's right eye swollen.
In the second round, Zhang Zhilei continued to perform strongly, hitting Joyce in the middle of the round, which also aggravated the opponent's eye injury. However, Joyce was not read by Zhang Zhilei through the hug. In the third round, Joyce began to counterattack, increasing the density of the attack, trying to suppress Zhang Zhilei's offensive through high-frequency attacks. Zhang Zhilei turned to defensive counterattacks, paying more attention to the quality of punches, although the frequency of attacks is not high, his heavy punches are more accurate, although the scene is passive, but he can constantly fight back with heavy punches, constantly deepening Joyce's eye injury.
In the fifth round of the match, Joyce's fast-paced attack suppressed Zhang Zhilei to a certain extent, and also made the hearts of many Wu fans hang, worried that Zhang Zhilei would repeat the mistake of losing to Hergovich in the last game due to physical problems.
Zhang Zhilei, on the other hand, identified tactics under heavy pressure, constantly moving to the side of Joyce's right eye, while each counterattack can kill and injure the opponent's face. Before the start of the sixth round, medical supervisors at the stadium began to examine Joyce's eye injury, and by this time Joyce's right eye was so swollen that it was difficult to open.
Before the halfway point of the sixth round, Zhang Zhilei blasted Joyce's defense with consecutive heavy punches. Although Joyce was not knocked down, the referee suspended the match, and after a medical supervision, the referee called a halt for Joyce's safety, and Zhang Zhilei won by TKO in the sixth round.
Joyce's right eye is swollen
After defeating Joyce, Zhang Zhilei also became the WBO heavyweight interim world boxing champion, and also obtained the mandatory right to challenge the current WBA, WBO and IBF three world boxing championship belt holders Usyk. At the same time, Zhang Zhilei also made the history of Chinese boxing, becoming the first Chinese fighter to win the mandatory challenge of the heavyweight world boxing title, and also the first Chinese fighter to win the heavyweight temporary world boxing championship belt.
No Chinese fighter, not even Asian, could win the world title of heavyweight boxing before, but Zhang Zhilei, a veteran in his late forties, did it, and he used his performance to interpret what it means to be an immortal sword. It also allows the world's martial arts fans to see that there will also be a place for Asians in heavyweight boxing.
Zhang Zhilei
As Zhang Zhilei said, age is just a number for him. For many people, 40 years old means that people reach middle age, and the ideals and fire in their hearts are long gone, and they will feel that they have more than enough and lack of strength. But Zhang Zhilei used this battle to tell everyone that as long as self-discipline dares to fight, age is never an excuse to imprison a person to achieve his ideals.
After that, Zhang Zhilei is likely to fight Ukrainian fighter Usyk, who currently holds the three world championship belts of WBA, WBO and IBF, and if it can really take shape, whether he wins or loses, Zhang Zhilei will continue to make Chinese boxing history, expecting the veteran to attack the highest honor and create another miracle.