Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce 2 Preview and Free Pick

Last Updated on September 20, 2023 5:00 pm by Erwin Noguera

We are taking a trip to the legendary Wembley Arena in London, to witness a heated rematch fight which will have the WBO Interim Heavyweight World Championship on the line.

The main event clash will pit the Interim Champion Zhilei Zhang against the recent challenger, Joe Joyce, with whom he recently clashed back in April when the doctor had to stop the contest due to his eye being closed shut from a hit.

Now that the two fighters know each other, and have shared the ring for 6 rounds, they will be coming into this fight to settle things down, with no doctor having to come into it.

Things are quite close when it comes to the odds, so we will break down everything we can to help you choose who you’ll be supporting this Saturday afternoon.

When: 

Saturday, September 23 at 2:30 pm ET

Main event ring walks:

(Estimated) 5.30 pm ET

Moneyline odds: 

Zhilei Zhang -133 

Joe Joyce -103

Where To Watch: 

ESPN+

Why Bet on Zhilei Zhang?

Zhilei is coming into this fight with a record of 25-1-1 (20 KOs).

Earlier this year, the Chinese star caused a sensational upset when he broke Joyce down before stopping him and inflicting the first professional defeat on the 2016 Olympic silver medallist. 

Zhang battered his rival for six rounds before referee Howard Foster waved off the fight to stop ‘The Juggernaut’ from taking more damage to his badly swollen eye.

Why Bet on Joe Joyce?

Joyce comes in with a record of 15-1 (14 KOs).

Joyce lived up to his ‘Juggernaut’ nickname through 15 straight wins before ‘Big Bang’ derailed him at the Copper Box Arena in London on April 15.

The referee stopped the fight midway through the sixth round due to grotesque swelling around the Englishman’s right eye.

Joyce isn’t particularly fast or elusive, but the pressure he applies is a real issue for any opponent. Absorbing inhuman amounts of punishment as he usually does, before turning the tide was not possible in the first clash, so expect a different approach this time.

Final Betting Analysis – Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce

Joyce wasn’t struck by one shot that turned things around, he was soundly outboxed from beginning to end and had very little success in the first fight.

The issue for Joyce in fight one was the southpaw stance of Zhang. Instead of moving outside of his opponent’s right foot to locate the punching room, the Englishman stood directly in front of him, who smashed home the punches and reconfigured Joyce’s face.

We think Joyce can improve on his last performance and raise questions from the visitors. However, We still think Zhang will find him with punches that he doesn’t see coming and those are the ones that do damage. We do foresee a better fight with the same result as the first one, although this time, we believe it’ll be a unanimous decision for the Chinese boxer.

Go for a victory for Zhilei Zhang at -133. If you bet $100 at such odds, you could get $75.19 for a total payout of $175.19.

Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce Betting Pick: Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang