Joe Joyce can take a big step towards a showdown with Tyson Fury when he fights Zhilei Zhang on Saturday night – so says boxing expert Chris Oliver.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday April 15
2pts Joe Joyce to win in rounds 7-12 at 13/8 (William Hill, bet365)
1pt Denzel Bentley to win in rounds 1-6 at 6/4 (Sky Bet)
JOE JOYCE can put himself in the shop window with a victory over Zhilei Zhang at the Copper Box Arena in London, live on BT Sport.
With Fury versus Oleksandr Uysk for all four belts now off the table and the Ukrainian looking likely to face WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois, Fury needs a dance partner for the summer and Joyce could be the man if he passes this latest test.
Fury against Joyce should be easy to make with them both being under the same promotional banner, but the latter needs to be fully focused on the task at hand as Zhang is dangerous.
Just ask Filip Hrgovic, who was a hot favourite to extend his unbeaten record against Zhang last year but was very lucky to escape with a decision victory when most observers thought the man from China had done more than enough to be given the nod.
That was Zhang’s first defeat in 26 bouts as a professional (one draw) and he won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics, so he clearly knows what he is doing and the 6’6” southpaw is a real handful on his day. However, Joyce is an even bigger handful and is on a real roll at present, which is why he is only a top price of 1/9 and the visitor is as big as 6/1.
Also an Olympic silver medallist (in 2016), Joyce has won all 15 outings in the paid ranks and all but one of his victims have failed to hear the final bell. Routine wins over gatekeepers Carlos Takam (TKO6) and Christian Hammer (TKO4) have been sandwiched by excellent victories over Daniel Dubois and, most recently, Joseph Parker.
If Dubois was Joyce’s coming out victory, as he broke down the heavy favourite behind his jab before forcing him to quit, then Parker was his career-best performance. In what many viewed as a 50-50 fight, Joyce became the first man to stop the former WBO champion thanks to his relentless pressure as he ended it with a lovely left hook round 11.
Neither Joyce or Zhang are spring chickens at 37 and 39 respectively, but the former is very much the fresher, and the Putney man is arguably still improving. Conversely, nine years a professional and 15 years after winning silver in Beijing, Zhang could just be coming down the other side of the mountain now.
Both men like to come forward, while they also both give a good shot and take a shot. So, this should be a lot of fun while it lasts and, despite Joyce being the heavy favourite, it could be very competitive early doors.
Zhang really put it on Hrgovic last summer and had the well-fancied Croat in trouble on a number of occasions. Couple that with Joyce's tendency to start a little slowly and a case can be made for the visitor doing very well in the opening sessions, with his fast hands beating the slower favourite to the punch.
However, the Hrgovic contest was very much a fight of two halves and that is the concern for fans of 'Big Bang'. Not for the first time, Zhang tired markedly from the halfway point which allowed Hrgovic to come on strong and nick a decision, albeit a highly debatable one.
If Zhang doesn't get rid of Joyce before halfway – something which is hard to envisage given the granite chin displayed by the local fighter so far – then things could get really testing for the older man in the later rounds. Just as Zhang is tiring, the man aptly nicknamed 'The Juggernaut' will be getting into full stride and really turning up the heat. Joyce seems to get stronger as a contest goes on and his work rate for such a big man is phenomenal.
It's 3/1 for this to go the distance, with Joyce 4/1 to win by decision, and the most common theory of Joyce grinding his man down for another stoppage is one I am in agreement with. There is every chance he will eat some heavy leather early on, but that is a common feature for Joyce now and, so far, it hasn't once stopped him maintaining his constant forward momentum.
If he picks up where he left off against Parker, then Joyce winning in the first six rounds (5/2) is big a possibility, but I believe it is much more likely that the local man ends this in the SECOND HALF of the contest at 6/4. Behind an excellent jab, the now-familiar story of Joyce constantly chipping away at the reserves of his opponent before they fall could be played out once again here.
DENZEL BENTLEY is fancied to shine when he makes the second defence of his British middleweight title against Kieran Smith on the undercard.
Having stopped Marcus Morrison in a four-round war in his first defence, Bentley then gave a very good account of himself when thrown in against WBO champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in November. Widely expected to be stopped early on, Bentley push the unbeaten Kazakh to a clear, but competitive, decision and this represents a big drop in class.
Smith, a 6/1 underdog, was stopped in six rounds by Troy Williamson at light middleweight two years ago and has only recorded a brace of points wins over journeymen since. This is a big step up for the Scotsman and Bentley can justify his odds of 1/7 in style.
Bentley will have his sights set much higher than this following his positive showing in Las Vegas last time and he can back that up by stopping Smith in the FIRST SIX ROUNDS, which is a 6/4 chance with Sky Bet.
Posted at 1150 BST on 14/04/23
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.