Groves Backs Joyce To Beat Zhang, Tyson Fury Not So Sure

In heavyweight boxing news, George Groves backed Joe Joyce to beat Zhilei Zhang in their rematch on September 23rd, 2023. 

Joe was stopped in their first fight in the sixth-round. This was after his eye closed up after Zhang’s left hand continued to find its target. The loss resulted in Zhang becoming the new WBO heavyweight interim champion.

That put the Chinese in line to face Oleksandr Usyk for the WBC, WBO and IBF titles once the mandatory was called. However, the rematch gives Joyce an opportunity to set things right.

In the first bout, Joe was more than a stone lighter than his opponent, which did come as a surprise. And during the fight, this may have had an impact as Joyce’s punch resistance and punch power appeared to desert him. But provided that the necessary changes are made, Groves backed Joyce to do the business. 

Groves On Joyce

“I think Joyce can get revenge over Zhang, he was just painfully slow last time. He’s never been the quickest fighter, I’m not sure what training he was doing for the first fight, but he was frighteningly slow and ridiculously easy to hit. Zhang is not bad, he’s been around a long time and Hrgovic squeezed past him. He’s a good fighter Zhang, but I think Joyce is a better fighter, he has a tenacious work rate and he’s a big strong dude – he’s the juggernaut…But I think a sharper Joyce beats Zhang,” Groves

In reality, another defeat for Joe would be catastrophic. And at the age of 38, working his way back to a mandatory position would not be easy. 

After all, where does Joyce go following a loss. He would simply be viewed as a high-risk, low-reward, type of fight. This is not ideal in the latter part of his career. So moving forward, Joyce has everything to lose. 

Fury On Joyce

Meanwhile, Tyson Fury has weighed in on Joyce’s chance as he recalled offering to help the Brit spar for his first fight. 

The ‘Gypsy King’ is one of the best heavyweights around. His ability to fight from an orthodox and southpaw stance is second to none.

And by being a much bigger heavyweight like Zhang, Fury could have provided Joe with the same kind of obstacles that the Chinese had shown.

Despite the offer being made, Joyce chose to stick to his own training methods, which was not enough to give him the win. Although there is no guarantee that Fury’s help could have changed the outcome, looking back, Fury felt this was a grave mistake. 

“I told Joe – live on the internet – that if he came to Morecombe Bay I’d almost guarantee him a win over Zhang. He didn’t, he went to Vegas. You can’t help somebody who doesn’t want to be helped. It is what it is…Let me just say, make no mistakes about it, if Joe had come up to Morecombe Bay he would have smashed Zhang. Now I’m not so sure,” Fury stated