Zhang is about 22lbs heavier than Joyce.

He was stopped in probably his most notable fight in the Olympic finals vs Cammarelle, in the fight he was dropped but got up, the ref called it off while he was up. That was in 2008.

He was down very early in his pro career as well.

 

*He was stopped due to a face wound after standing.

 

Here is the full Zhang vs Cammarelle fight if you/anyone else is interested:

This content is protected

 

Going for Zhang Tsung.

 

Well Zhang had a good run those Olympics. Absolutely nothing to be ashamed of losing to Roberto because he’s arguably a top 10 amateur Super HW in history. I actually think he should have gotten the nod against Joshua but… London Games. We know how that all went.

Zhang has definitely improved over the years. Much more measured. Better pop. Timing. Everything

 

Based on the betting line it appears making a small wager on ZZ makes sense. I'm favoring Joyce.

There are aspects of this fight that are telling. Like the ages of both fighters.
Zhang is 39, and without looking it up Filip and upcoming fight w/Joe are his two biggest name opponents. Ok J Forrest is 3rd. Why did he start so late as a pro, and on top of that take his time getting to where he is now?? Does he think 35-40+ are prime years for a HW? You can ask similar questions about Joyce except he has a better resume than Zhang but is only two years younger.

Isn't the attention this fight is getting a reflection of the state of the HW division? There's plenty of talent but Wilder-Ruiz, and the one that has everyone's undies in knots, Fury-Usyk fell apart. There was talk of AJ facing Whyte (again) after a cautious UD over Franklin There's seldom a legit top 10 HWs (both) fight. This one, like AJ-Franklin are not top 10 HW bouts.

Outside of Fury-Wilder, Whyte and Usyk-AJ, Joyce-Parker would be a top 10 HW match based on most rankings. What else lately? It's just businessmen fighting on social media and jockeying for position to max out that elusive big pay day. Some will score very big, many won't.

 

how does Zhang Zhilei have terrible stamina?

 

After the success he had against Hrgovic and lasting into the later rounds, you'd think he'd try to come in lighter to be able to finish the job but no. He probably has no respect for JJ's defense what so ever. Word on the street is no one has really beaten' Big Shizang yet so Joyce throws his chin into the hat. There will be knockdowns, that should've been the motto of this fight.

 

Nah, that was a legitimate knockdown. You can see by the way Zhang's body kind of slumps to one side as he goes down.

You what? I can't find a full version of that fight online, but I watched it live, and remember Joshua dominating. There were two fights Joshua got favourable nods in, against Savon and against Cammarelle. The rest he legitimately won.

 

He was knocked down against Juan Goode:

This content is protected

I recall seeing him stunned a few times as well. His chin's ok but it's not on Joyce's level.

 

Fair enough, I get what you mean in that case. He has a Max Baer way of throwing shots in combination, sort of winding them up like a rock 'em sock 'em, which can leave him very open. When he's on the defensive though he's pretty good at rolling with shots. Unless he's stalking his opponent they're unlikely to hit him with a flush OH right. Lefts he's a bit more open to.

Will be interesting to see how he deals with a huge and well-schooled southpaw in Zhang. I suspect he'll keep trying to turn Zhang by moving to his left to avoid the straight and trying to roll with any lead hooks Zhang throws the way he does for a conventional fighter's right hand.

 

The foot step might have contributed to the shot landing the way it did if Zhang couldn't get out the way due to his foot being trapped. I don't think it had a huge impact personally.