Zhang Warns Joyce of Chinese Power Surge!
(February 28th) Zhilei Zhang promises that Joe Joyce will feel the Far East force when the pair collide at the Copper Box Arena on April 15, live on BT Sport.
"Big Juggernaut" and "Big Bang" will trade bombs with Joyce’s WBO Interim world heavyweight title at stake, with the pair fighting for the right to challenge for the full world championship, currently held by unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Joyce is renowned for walking through heavy fire without flinching, as evidenced throughout his career and last year in fights against Christian Hammer and Joseph Parker.
Zhang, who fought a final eliminator for the IBF belt against Filip Hrgovic last year and rocked the fancied Croatian, warns that being prepared to take punishment would be a risky strategy against himself.
“Joe Joyce has good punch resistance but he has never felt Chinese power,” is the chilling warning coming from the 39-year-old who hails from Zhoukou in China.
Promoted by Queensberry Promotions, Joyce-Zhang will be broadcast live in the U.K. on BT Sport and streamed live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.
Also featuring at the Copper Box will be the return of Denzel Bentley with a defence of his British middleweight title against Scottish challenger Kieran Smith. Peacock Gym puncher Bentley is back fighting in London after his unsuccessful WBO world title tilt against Janibek Alimkhanuly in November.
Former unified super-featherweight belt-holder Mikaela Mayer, fighting in the U.K. for the second time in a row, will make her lightweight debut against former two-time super-lightweight world champion Christina ‘Medusa’ Linardatou.
Commonwealth super bantamweight champion Dennis McCann will make a first defence of the title he won via defeating Joe Ham last time out, with his Queensberry iBox Gym teammate Sam Noakes defending his WBC International Silver and Commonwealth lightweight titles.
McCann made it a title treble at The O2 in November, with the 22-year-old Menace having won the WBC International Silver featherweight championship and the WBO Youth super bantamweight title in his previous two fights, beating James Beech Jr and Charles Tondo respectively.
Former amateur star Eithan James, winner of five national titles, is on the card in an eight round super lightweight contest. While another super lightweight Sonny Liston Ali will fight in a six-rounder with Dagenham super welterweight Joel Kodua fighting over four.
Tickets for the showdown between Joyce and Zhang April 15 at the Copper Box Arena are on sale now available from ticketmaster.co.uk.
April 15: Mikaela Mayer-Christina Linardatou
Set As Co-Feature To Joyce vs Zhang LIVE On ESPN+!
(February 22nd) Mikaela Mayer is coming back to the U.K. for the second time in a row.
The former unified junior lightweight champion will make her lightweight debut against former two-time junior welterweight world champion Christina “Medusa” Linardatou on Saturday, April 15, at Copper Box Arena in London.
Mayer vs Linardatou will serve as the co-feature to the WBO interim heavyweight title clash between undefeated British knockout artist Joe Joyce and Chinese contender Zhilei Zhang.
“Mikaela Mayer made such a big hit in the UK that it only made sense to for her to fight across the pond again,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Mikaela is still one of the very best fighters in the world, and she demanded a tough fight for her lightweight debut. Linardatou has proven herself at the world-class level and should give Mikaela a run for her money.”
Mayer (17-1, 5 KOs), a 2016 U.S. Olympian, signed with Top Rank in 2017 and captured the WBO junior lightweight championship with a unanimous decision victory against Ewa Brodnicka in October 2020. The following year, the Los Angeles native unified the WBO and IBF titles in an action-packed slugfest against Maiva Hamadouche. In her last fight, Mayer suffered the first defeat of her career, a razor-thin split decision setback to Alycia Baumgardner at London’s O2 Arena. Mayer wants to reverse her lone defeat, but she’ll first step up to lightweight to face Linardatou, the only woman to defeat Baumgardner in the paid ranks.
Mayer said, “The second I returned to the U.S. after my last fight in London, I called my team and told them to get me a fight ASAP. I didn’t want to wait, and I didn’t want to fight anyone other than a top contender! I’m hungry and motivated to prove that I’m still the best. When Top Rank sealed the deal with the tough and experienced Christina Linardatou, I was excited and inspired. She’s an aggressive, come-forward fighter, which is going to force me use all my tools. I always love the energy and support I get when visiting the UK, and I’m excited to come back and give everyone a great fight.”
Linardatou (14-2, 6 KOs) was born in the Dominican Republic but moved to Greece as a young child, where she developed her love for boxing. When she was 26, she returned to her native country to begin her pro career with a first-round technical knockout over Claribel Ferreras. The 34-year-old remained undefeated until unsuccessfully challenging Delfine Persoon for the WBC lightweight world title in 2016. Linardatou bounced back with four more wins, including a victory over Baumgardner and a win against Kandi Wyatt to capture the vacant WBO junior welterweight championship. Linardatou lost her 140-pound belt to Katie Taylor in 2019 but regained that title with a unanimous decision over Prisca Vicot in February 2020. Linardatou returned from a 29-month layoff last July, winning a six-round decision over Aleksandra Vujovic.
Linardatou said, “I’m excited to be fighting Mikaela. She is coming off a loss to Alycia Baumgardner, whom I easily beat some years ago. I know she will be looking to make a statement in this fight. This is my first big fight after having a baby, which means my mission is different. Prior to having a baby, I would fight for titles and money. Now, I am fighting for legacy and to show my son how great his mom is.”
The WBO Interim world heavyweight title – held by the unbeaten Briton – will be on the line when the pair collide, live on BT Sport, with the winner in line to take on the holder of the full title, which is currently Oleksandr Usyk.
“You can expect a lot of big bangs from myself and Zhilei!” predicted the Big Juggernaut. “It is going to be a great, great fight, you haven’t seen me against a tall southpaw yet and someone who can really hit and test my chin.
“You will see if I can knock him down and see how our styles gel. It will be explosive and I don’t think it is going the distance. I know what to do with southpaws, so it should be good.”
Also featuring at the Copper Box will be the return of Denzel Bentley with a defence of his British middleweight title against Scottish challenger Kieran Smith. Peacock Gym puncher Bentley is back fighting in London after his unsuccessful WBO world title tilt against Janibek Alimkhanuly in November.
Commonwealth super bantamweight champion Dennis McCann will make a first defence of the title he won via defeating Joe Ham last time out, with his Queensberry iBox Gym teammate Sam Noakes defending his WBC International Silver and Commonwealth lightweight titles.
Super lightweight Sonny Liston Ali will fight in a six-rounder with Dagenham super welterweight Joel Kodua fighting over four.
Further exciting additions to the card will be announced shortly.
About Frank Warren
In an era spanning over 35 years, Hall of Fame boxing Promoter and Manager Frank Warren has worked with some of the biggest fighters in boxing history. Hamed, Bruno, Tyson, Calzaghe, Benn, Collins, Eubank, Khan and Hatton are some of the iconic names he has promoted during his career.
BoxNation
In 2011 Frank launched the innovative direct to consumer TV model, BoxNation as part of a vision that saw the sports TV market evolving from the traditional reliance on major satellite and cable broadcasters.
Since then BoxNation has gone from strength to strength becoming the UK’s fastest growing independent subscription broadcaster in the process and showcasing the biggest fights from at home and abroad, along the way.
Through Queensberry Promotions and BoxNation, the future of British boxing has never looked in such great shape.
About BT Sport
BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels provided by BT Consumer; a division of BT Group in the United Kingdom and Ireland that was launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Broadcast Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
Bentley Back On British Beat
Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang Undercard Takes Shape!
(February 11th) Denzel Bentley will return to British title business when he defends his middleweight belt against Kieran Smith on the undercard of the Joe Joyce-Zhilei Zhang heavyweight showdown at the Copper Box Arena on April 15, live on BT Sport.
Peacock Gym puncher Bentley (17-2-1, 14) is back fighting in London after his unsuccessful WBO world title tilt against Janibek Alimkhanuly in November, having won back his Lonsdale belt in a vacant title battle against Linus Udofia. He then made an emphatic defence against Marcus Morrison before heading over to Las Vegas to take on the formidable Kazakh.
Smith (18-1, 7), of Scotland, is now operating at middleweight after forging a productive career at super welterweight that saw him become WBC International Silver champion and make two successful defences, before coming to a conclusion in April 2021 when he was stopped by Troy Williamson.
Commonwealth super bantamweight champion Dennis McCann (14-0, 8) will make a first defence of the title he won via defeating Joe Ham last time out, with his Queensberry iBox Gym teammate Sam Noakes (10-0, 10) defending his WBC International Silver and Commonwealth lightweight titles.
McCann made it a title treble at The O2 in November, with the 22-year-old Menace having won the WBC International Silver featherweight championship and the WBO Youth super bantamweight title in his previous two fights, beating James Beech Jr and Charles Tondo respectively.
Noakes added the Commonwealth to his WBC International Silver title on the same show at The O2, bringing his professional tally up to a perfect 10 wins, with 10 KOs.
Up-and-coming Queensberry youngster Sonny Liston Ali (5-0) is in a six-round super lightweight bout and Dagenham super welterweight Joel Kodua (1-0) fights over four.
“A British middleweight title fight is the perfect foil for the big heavyweight collision between Joe and Big Bang Zhang and this will be a strong undercard at the Copper Box, with a little bit more to reveal next week,” said promoter Frank Warren.
“Denzel Bentley proved himself as a world level performer over in Las Vegas against Janibek, a man who the other middleweights wouldn’t go near. If Denzel had gone on the attack a bit sooner it could have been a different outcome.
“He can return to the top table and an upside for him – and us – is that he can maintain his momentum in meaningful British title fights, but Kieran Smith fully intends to knock him off-course.
“Dennis McCann and Sam Noakes are both fully up and running in the title-winning business and I am looking forward to seeing them back in action in title defences ahead of a big year for them both.
“There will be at least one more exciting addition to the card ahead of the tickets going on sale on Wednesday 15th February. Stay tuned for that.”
“The Juggernaut” vs “Big Bang”
At the Copper Box Arena April 15th!
(February 2nd) Joe Joyce will defend his WBO Interim World Heavyweight title against the Chinese giant Zhilei Zhang at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday, 15 April, live on BT Sport.
It will be a first defence of the belt for the ‘Big Juggernaut’ Joyce, 15-0 (14 KOs), who put himself first in line for a shot at the full WBO title with a thrilling victory over Joseph Parker in September of last year in Manchester.
With the current unified champion Oleksandr Usyk expected to fight for the status of undisputed against WBC ruler Tyson Fury this year, the 37-year-old Joyce will bolster his own heavyweight credentials by taking on the 6ft 6″ southpaw who resides in Bloomfield, New Jersey.
‘Big Bang’ Zhang, 24-1-1 (19 KOs) last saw action over in Jeddah in August when he fought in an IBF final eliminator against the 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.
The Chinese fighter now gets the opportunity to put himself in the world title frame once again on what will be a first professional visit to the capital for the southpaw.
“It is a great fight,” reacted Joyce to his first defence being set. “He had a tough fight against Hrgovic but I thought he won the fight. Zhang is a big, strong southpaw who is massive, and he has been to the Olympics and all that. So, he has the experience and I think it will be a great fight.
“He bangs so I will have to watch out for it. As Hrgovic and I have a similar style, they had a great fight, so when we fight it should be entertaining.
“It will be carnage in the centre of the ring! I have lost my temper a few times in sparring and once was against a come-forward southpaw who was trying to knock me out. It was an exciting spar.
“I think with me and Zhang there will be real heavy punches exchanged and I am sure it will be a good fight. It will be a good preparation for Usyk or Fury, plus I haven’t fought a southpaw since I won the Commonwealth title against Lenroy Thomas.”
“It’s a new chapter in my career,” Zhilei Zhang added on the crunch heavyweight clash at the Copper Box. “I am always up for the challenge and when the opportunity rings the bell. Joe Joyce and I share a lot in common – we both are Olympic silver medalists, both are big punchers, and are nearly the same size. This is going to be an explosive, epic and tremendous fight.
“I want to thank my team and Joyce’s team for putting this together. I want all my fans in UK to show up and enjoy the event. Can’t wait to get in the ring on April 15th.”
“This is another cracker of a card that should be in keeping with the special night we all just enjoyed at Wembley,” said promoter Frank Warren. “We want to keep Big Joe busy while the heavyweight title scene unfolds but there can be no easy touches in a defence of his WBO Interim title. Zhilei Zhang is anything but an easy touch, he is a formidable powerhouse who can consider himself unlucky not to be still an unbeaten contender following his fight with Filip Hrgovic last year.
“Zhang being a southpaw ticks a significant box for Joe, with Usyk being a left-hander and Tyson carrying the ability to adopt either stance. That is what we want next for Joe and hopefully it will be a huge all-British collision against Tyson.”
“This is a great fight for boxing and a great opportunity for Zhilei,” said Terry Lane, Zhang’s manager. “Once again, he takes on a challenge that many are running from. There will be fireworks in London on 15 April.”
The undercard will be announced in due course with a host of Queensberry’s established and rising stars to be added to the bill.
Print