“Big Juggernaut” Joe Joyce continues his rise to a world heavyweight title shot by facing Zhilei Zhang on April 15.
Joyce will defend his status as the WBO Interim champion against the Chinese giant at the Copper Box Arena.
The event will be broadcast live on BT Sport.
It will be the first defense of his belt for the 15-0 puncher, who has 14 wins coming via big KO.
Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang
Joyce put himself first in line for a shot at the full WBO title. He scored a thrilling victory over Joseph Parker in September of last year in Manchester.
With the current unified champion Oleksandr Usyk expected to fight for undisputed status against WBC ruler Tyson Fury this year, the 37-year-old Joyce will bolster his heavyweight credentials.
He takes on the 6ft 6″ southpaw who resides in Bloomfield, New Jersey.
‘Big Bang’ Zhang, 24-1-1 (19 KOs), saw action in Jeddah last August. He fought in an IBF final eliminator against Croatian Filip Hrgovic.
The 39-year-old was declared the loser via the judges’ scorecards. But many commentators believed him to have won after dominating the early stages of the fight.
Zhang now gets to put himself in the world title frame again. It will be the first professional visit to the capital for the southpaw.
Whoever comes out on top will be in a prime position to challenge for the undisputed heavyweight crown.
April 15 at Copper Box
The undercard will be announced in due course, with a host of Queensberry’s established and rising stars to be added to the bill.
Tickets for the showdown between Joyce and Zhang on April 15 at the Copper Box Arena go on sale at 11 am on Wednesday, February 15, from ticketmaster.co.uk.
Fans are encouraged to sign-up for Ticket Alerts to receive the ticket link directly to their inbox ahead of tickets going on sale.
