Joe Joyce v Zhilei Zhang 2: date, times, undercard and how to watch

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Joe Joyce will be looking to bounce back after tasting defeat for the first time at the Copper Box in April, and he’ll have his chance to exact some revenge on that opponent when he touches gloves with Zhilei Zhang in what should be one of the rematches of the year.

Joyce had been enjoying a rise to the top in his previous fights, with the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in sight before Zhang’s sixth round stoppage of the Brit, but he’ll be looking to bounce back in a fight the bookies have him a slight underdog for…

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How to watch Joyce v Zhang 2

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The fight will be live on TNT Sports, with the fight also available on catch-up via discovery+ should you miss it. It isn’t part of TNT Sports’ Box Office offering, so anyone with a TNT Sports subscription will be able to watch the fight and the undercard live.

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There are a wealth of packages available, with BT TV offering TNT Sports from as little as £18 per month on top of your broadband package, while customers without BT broadband can subscribe to TNT Sports through the discovery+ app for £29.99 per month.  

When is Joyce v Zhang 2? Date and start time

The rematch is scheduled for Saturday September 23, 2023, taking place at the OVO Arena Wembley in London. It’s a venue which has happy memories for the Londoner, with Joyce having beaten both Christam Hammer and Carlos Takam there.

Zhang will prove stiffer opposition though as he knows only too well, in what will be a 12-round heavyweight bout for the WBO interim heavyweight title. The winner of the fight will become the mandatory challenger for the WBO heavyweight belt, currently held by Oleksandr Usyk.

Fight night will get underway from 6pm, with ringwalks for the Joyce v Zhang bout expected at around 10.30pm.

Coverage of the fight will also be broadcast live on talkSPORT for radio listeners.

What happened in the first bout?

Coming in off the back of a win against Joseph Parker, there were high hopes for the Juggernaut against the Chinese Southpaw, but it was Zhang who stunned Joyce, putting pay to Joyce’s title shot hopes.

The bout started quickly, with Zhang living up to his Big Bang name, rocking Joyce in the second and landing some heavy shots that left their mark on his opponent’s face. By the fifth, Joyce’s right eye had closed up and questions were being asked as to whether he could continue.

By the sixth, the answer was no and midway through the round, following a spell of dominance from Zhang, the referee put a stop to the fight following consultation with the ringside doctor.

It marked the Brit’s first loss, as well as a return to form for Zhang, who bounced back following defeat to Filip Hrgovic (his only defeat) eight months previous.

Joyce v Zhang 2 undercard

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While the heavyweight showdown tops the bill, there are some good fights on the undercard, making it well worth tuning in from 6pm. Pierce O’Leary will take on Kane Gardner, with a number of journalists claiming the former could be Dublin’s answer to Ricky Hatton, while unbeaten Sam Noakes takes on Khalid Graidia.

The full fight card for September 23 is currently as follows:

• MAIN EVENT: Joe Joyce v Zhilei Zhang
• Pierce O’Leary v Kane Gardner
• Anthony Yarde v Ricky Summers
• Sam Noakes v Khalid Graidia
• Ezra Taylor v Joel McIntyre
• Royston Barney-Smith v TBC
• Moses Itauma v Amine Boucetta
• Tommy Fletcher v Alberto Tapia
• Aloys Youmbi v Erik Nazaryan
• Sean Noakes v TBC

Fight card subject to change.

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Tale of the tape: Joyce v Zhang

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Both fighters have just one defeat to their names, both coming in recent times. Of course, for Joyce the sixth round stoppage is the only blip on a near-perfect professional boxing record, while a unanimous decision defeat against Hrgovic in August 2022 is Big Bang’s only blemish, although he did also draw against Jerry Forrest back in 2021.

Here are the pair’s vital statistics…