[Boxing- UK] 23.9/ 21:00 J.Joyce- Z.Zhang
The issue for Joyce in fight one was clearly the southpaw stance of his Zhang. Instead of moving outside of his opponent’s right foot to locate punching room, the Englishman stood directly in front of Zhang, who smashed home the punches and reconfigured Joyce’s face.
This looks like a tough one for Joyce.
Some heavyweight setbacks looks solvable – think Hasim Rahman KO 5 Lennox Lewis or Andy Ruiz TKO 7 Anthony Joshua – but this one looks like the stuff of nightmares for the London-based boxer-puncher.
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. Can he turn all of that around in just six months and reverse the result?
The home fighter definitely has the requisite fighting guts, but it’s his feet that let him down last time. Despite being very athletic for a big man, he hardly falls into the category of fleet-footed, so that issue needs to be resolved in a hurry.
Interestingly enough, Joyce came in at his lightest weight for over three years in fight one – 256 pounds. But given how flat and static he was, it’s unlikely that a considerable weight gain would do Joyce any favours in the rematch. Speed of foot and positioning are key here, so his weight should be comparable.
I think Joyce can improve on his last performance and ask questions of the visitor. However, I still think Zhang will find him with punches that he doesn’t see coming and those are the ones that do damage. I foresee a better fight with the same result.
2 @1,85 Bet365
[Boxing- UK] 23.9/ 21:00 J.Joyce- Z.Zhang
2 @1,85
