Joe Joyce, the former WBO interim heavyweight champion, looked poised to challenge for the undisputed heavyweight titles but lost momentum with a couple of defeats to China’s Zhilei Zhang. Joyce, with a commendable 15-2, rose to prominence after he bagged a silver medal in the super heavyweight division at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The only man to defeat Joyce in professional boxing, Zang also has an Olympic Silver medal as a super heavyweight from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Now, Joyce is making his comeback after losses against a surprise heavyweight contender.
Joe Joyce reportedly set to fight Kash Ali
British heavyweight Joe Joyce’s comeback fight is scheduled against controversial Pakistani-British boxer Kash Ali on March 16th in Birmingham, England. Joyce aka ‘The Juggernaut’ had his heavyweight title hopes dash in 2023 as he went winless with two defeats to Zhilei Zhang.
2023 was a challenging year for Joyce as he entered the year as an undefeated fighter but succumbed in front of Zhilei Zhang. The referee stopped the bout in the sixth round after powerful shots from the Chinaman caused a swelling in Joyce’s eye. Zhang himself was coming off his first professional defeat to the undefeated Filip Hrgović, an Olympic Bronze medalist.
Joe Joyce vs. Kash Ali in Play For March 16 in Birmingham https://t.co/pydoR7iGGl pic.twitter.com/6LjrMJwYb6
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) January 16, 2024
Joyce would invoke the rematch clause after the loss to Zhang only to lose to the Chinaman again but this time in the third round. If he had beaten Zhang, he could’ve become one of the biggest names in the UK’s boxing scene along with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. His upcoming opponent Kash Ali became infamous in 2019 when he bit David Price in what was his first professional defeat by DQ.
The action got Ali a six-month suspension and he came back to win 6 in a row but he lost his recent outing to Bohdan Myronets. Joyce is Ali’s first high-profile opponent, and a victory could move him up further in the heavyweight rankings. Nevertheless, he is an underdog in the fight and the fight is seen as a comeback fight for Joyce than a redemption for Ali.
Joe Joyce-Kash Ali undercard to feature English heavyweight title match
Joe Joyce and Kash Ali are set to headline the fight card in Birmingham and the fight card also has an important heavyweight title fight in the undercard. The undefeated Sol Dacres is scheduled to defend his English heavyweight title against David Adeleye in a British title clash.
Dacres, the reigning English heavyweight champion, will certainly have a tough challenge from Adeleye who has a 100 percent finish rate. Adeleye is coming off the first loss of his professional career against Fabio Wardley in the undercard of Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou billed as ‘The Battle of the Baddest‘.
Joe Joyce vs Kash Ali is reportedly likely to take place on March 16th in Birmingham, with Sol Dacres set to defend his English heavyweight title vs David Adeleye also on that show. [According to @BoxingNewsED]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 16, 2024
Even though Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and now Francis Ngannou are the biggest names in boxing, with fighters like Dacres and Adeleye, the depth of the heavyweight division is evident. The division had a dearth of talent in the recent past but now the depth looks like the golden age of boxing. It needs to be noted that the depth of the heavyweight talent pool of the UK is mind-blowing.
Dacres is the betting favorite for the fight, but Adeleye has the experience to spring an upset. Even though Dacres is the champion, he has only fought 8 times in professional boxing whereas Adeleye has 13 fights.
Do you think Kash Ali can spring an upset against Joe Joyce? Leave your prediction below!
