Interim WBO heavyweight champion Joe Joyce suffered a sensational defeat in a duel against China's Zhang Zhilei. The fight between the 37-year-old British man and two years older than his Chinese became the main event of the boxing evening from the Queensberry Promotions promotion company, which took place in London. Joyce was considered the absolute favorite of the fight according to bookmakers and experts, however, the representative of the Celestial Empire created a loud upset, having won an early victory over his opponent. From the first rounds, Zhilei seized the initiative and delivered a series of powerful blows to the Briton. One of the attacks of the Chinese fell exactly in the face of Joyce and broke his nose..

The British boxer tried to work on the body of the Chinese, but continued to take punches. It didn't come without consequences.. Joyce has a terrible hematoma under his right eye. In the sixth round, the referee, on the advice of a doctor, was forced to stop the fight and award Zhilei a victory by technical knockout..

Overview of the fight Joyce - Zhilei.

For Joyce, this defeat was the first in the professional ring.. Now he has 15 wins (14 by knockout) in 16 fights.. In his previous fight, he knocked out New Zealander Joseph Parker last September to win the vacant WBO interim title.. Defeating Joyce, the 39-year-old Chinese won his 25th victory and took the interim WBO belt. Thus, Zhilei became another contender for the fight with the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk.