Joe Joyce Taking Lessons from his Loss to Zhilei Zhang
After losing his first professional prizefight to Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KO’s), heavyweight fighter Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce (15-1, 14 KO’s) wasted little time in activating his rematch clause. With the defeat, Joyce lost his Interim WBO strap and his premiere position in line for a full title shot. On the other hand however, Juggernaut, 37, believes that he obtained a great wealth of information that will aid him in the future.
“Looking back at the fight, it was a terrible performance for me! I wasn’t really myself. Fighting a southpaw is such a tricky style that I found myself open for the straight left. It was hard to get away from because he was deceptively fast and hit hard! And he’s got the wealth of experience from the amateurs, so he’s rated, he’s a good fighter. I didn’t think I gave it my best . . . we can all nitpick and speculate post camp, especially after a loss. But if I’d won, maybe would I have thought about all these things? So now me and my team are reviewing the situation that happened and where we can improve going forward.”
Joe Joyce speaking with iFL TV
HOPPING MENTAL HURDLES
It certainly is good to hear that Joyce is approaching his do-over with a positive state of mind. This is because, as most boxing fans know, the mental aspect of the fight game is 99% of the struggle. With this being said, Juggernaut has definitely had to battle his share of demons in the aftermath of his defeat.
“Yeah, it has been eating up in my mind, to be honest! It’s so annoying! Especially in the pro’s where you want to look after your 0 and not be defeated and undisputed, like that, so it’s very annoying. I’ve come through adversity. I’ve lost in the amateurs, so I know I can review my footage and come back stronger, and that’s what I plan to do. But being right there at the top and losing my title, the WBO Interim, which is like right there. But I still have time to come back around and get it back and then still be in time for a shot.”
It will be interesting to see what kind of game plan Juggernaut and his corner devise in the rematch. Will he be better? Can Joyce learn from the loss and actually stay away from the stifling straight left fist of Zhang or will history repeat itself? No matter what the outcome may be, 3Kings Boxing will here to report the revenge or replicated loss!
