Notebook: Heavyweights Zhang, Joyce meet again Sept. 23
McCaskill, Ryan to unify women's welterweight belts; WBC junior featherweight eliminator tops GB card; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Zhilei Zhang and Joe Joyce will go to battle again.
Zhang will make the first defense of the WBO interim heavyweight title against Joyce, the man from whom he won it, on Sept. 23 at OVO Arena Wembley in London, promoter Frank Warren announced at a news conference on Thursday.
The fight will air on TNT Sports (the new name for BT Sport) in the United Kingdom. Although the United States broadcaster was not announced, the card will stream on ESPN+, a source with direct knowledge of the deal told Fight Freaks Unite.
The southpaw Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KOs), 40, a China native fighting out of Paterson, New Jersey, stopped Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs), 37, of England, in the sixth round due to severe swelling around his damaged right eye to claim the belt on April 15 at Copper Box Arena in London, Joyce’s hometown.
WBC/lineal champion Tyson Fury showed interest in facing Zhang this summer, but Joyce exercised his contractual right to an immediate rematch soon after the first fight and the sequel, which was initially targeted for Sept. 2, was made official on Thursday.
“I created history last time,” Zhang said. “And I believe the best way to inherit history is to create new ones. I look at the rematch as if it was a new fight. I look at Joe Joyce as if I never fought him before. I started from zero and this is the new self.”
Joyce, of course, is aiming for revenge and the chance to set up an even bigger fight.
“I’m coming back to take back what’s mine,” Joyce said. “September 2nd I am leaving everything in that ring. No compromises. No underestimating my opponent. Nothing but a win.
“Last time out I lost my undefeated professional record. It was hard to take. But after the dust settled, all that will do is make me better. I’ve learned lessons. I’m ready and I am coming for everything.”
Warren talked up the significance of the fight, which matches a pair of powerful big men, who both won Olympic super heavyweight silver medals — the 6-foot-6, 278-pound Zhang, a two-time Olympian, in 2008 and 6-6, 256-pound Joyce in 2016.
“This is a fight with high stakes written all over it,” Warren said. “The first fight in April was the best heavyweight fight made this year and I am expecting more of the same at the OVO Arena on Sept. 23.
“Joe will acknowledge that Zhilei did a number on him at the Copper Box and he has a lot to work on to put it right. But he knows what he has got to do, and his immediate future depends on him regaining his position as WBO Interim world champion. Thankfully, for Joe’s sake, the rotation system for mandatory challenges with the governing bodies means the WBO contender against the unified champion has yet to be called, so victory in September will put Joe right back in the frame to fight whoever emerges victorious out of the current champion Oleksandr Usyk and his next challenger, Daniel Dubois.”
Zhang dominated the first fight against Joyce, who appeared helpless trying to deal with his southpaw style. Zhang spent five-plus rounds banging his powerful left hand off Joyce’s right eye, eventually rendering his face a bloody mess and his eye slammed closed.
When it was obvious Joyce could no longer see out of his swollen and purple eye, the all-action fight was waved off, giving Zhang by far the biggest win of his career and positioning him as a mandatory challenger for three-belt unified titleholder Usyk.
McCaskill vs. Ryan unification
Jessica McCaskill, the WBC/WBA women’s welterweight champion, will face WBO titlist Sandy Ryan in a unification fight in their next fight, Matchroom Boxing announced.
Matchroom, which also announced it has signed McCaskill to a new promotional contract, said the date and location of the bout would soon follow. With Matchroom Boxing putting on the fight that means it will stream on DAZN.
McCaskill (12-3, 5 KO), 28, of Chicago, a former unified junior welterweight titlist, won the undisputed welterweight title from long-reigning champion Cecilia Braekhus in 2020 and then beat her again in an immediate rematch. McCaskill made three defenses of the undisputed crown overall but when she dropped down to junior welterweight in November and lost a decision to Chantelle Cameron for the undisputed crown, the WBO and the IBF stripped her.
Ryan (6-1, 2 KOs), 29, of England, claimed the vacant WBO belt via lopsided decision against Marie Pier Houle on April 22 in Cardiff, Wales and will make her first defense in the unification bout with McCaskill.
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WBC 122 eliminator set
Alan Picasso (24-0-1, 13 KOs), 22, will fight in his hometown of Mexico City against Sabelo Ngebinyana (15-6-1, 11 KOs), 30, of South Africa, in a WBC junior featherweight title eliminator that will headline a special Saturday edition of “Golden Boy Fight Night” on July 15 (DAZN), Golden Boy announced.
The winner of the fight will be positioned for an eventual mandatory shot at the 122-pound title held by unified titleholder Stephen Fulton, who first defends against Naoya Inoue on July 25.
“I am ready to face the most important fight of my career,” Picasso said. “Sabelo is a strong, accurate and experienced fighter. But through my 25 fights, I have acquired qualities to be able to take this fight. I am happy for the opportunity. After July 15, no one will be able to hide that I am the strongest (122-pounder) in Mexico, and I will go for the world title. (Luis) Nery, Inoue and Fulton should take care of themselves, because Picasso is in the division.”
Picasso and Ngebinyana have yet to face a top opponent and Ngebinyana 0-1-1 in his previous two bouts.
“It will be my first time in Mexico,” Ngebinyana said. “I respect David a lot. He is a great boxer, complicated and knows how to work round by round, but I am not going to leave anything to the judges. I don't know if they are underestimating me, but I come to do my job. I worked very hard and although I have defeats in my record, this will be my greatest victory.”
Quick hits
The IBF on Tuesday ordered junior welterweight titlist Subriel Matias (19-1, 19 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, to make his next defense against Shohjahon Ergashev (23-0, 20 KOs), 31, a southpaw from Uzbekistan fighting out of Detroit. The IBF said they have 30 days to make a deal or it will schedule a purse bid. Either side can ask for an immediate purse bid if they don’t want to negotiate. Matias won the vacant title by fifth-round knockout in a shootout with Jeremias Ponce in February and has been linked to a possible summer fight with former titlist Sergey Lipinets. However, the IBF said if Matias wants to fight anyone other than Ergashev, he would have to petition the organization for an exception.
Long Beach, California, lightweight prospect Ashton Sylve (9-0, 8 KOs), 19, will step up his opposition against William Silva (30-4, 18 KOs), 36, a Brazil native fighting out of St. Petersburg, Florida, in an eight-rounder in one of the bouts on the Jake Paul-Nate Diaz DAZN PPV card on Aug. 5 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Most Valuable Promotions announced. Sylve went the distance for the first time in his last fight, a shutout decision in an eight-rounder against Adam Kipenga on May 26. Silva has won two in a row.
Panya Pradabsri retained the WBC strawweight title for the fourth time with an eighth-round knockout of Norihito Tanaka (20-10, 10 KOs), 38, of Japan, in an immediate rematch on Wednesday in Rayong, Thailand, Pradabsri’s home country. Pradabsri (40-1, 24 KOs), 32, dropped Tanaka with a left hand about 30 seconds into the fight. He dominated before Tanaka’s corner threw in the towel. Last August, Pradabsri outpointed Tanaka in their first meeting. Tanaka dropped to 0-3 in strawweight world title fights. Pradabsri next will be ordered to make a mandatory defense against interim titlist Yudai Shigeoka.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced he has signed junior featherweight Shabaz Masoud (11-0, 4 KOs), 27, England. Masoud, who is trained and managed by Ben Davison, previously was with now-defunct MTK Global and Probellum. “To get the deal over the line there was a lot of back and forth,” Masoud said. “I wanted to be at the right place and I feel like this is the right time as well. I just can’t wait for a fight date now. I want to show the world what I’m about.” Said Hearn: “He is a special talent with a big future in the sport. Ben Davison is very confident that Shabaz has what it takes to become a multi-weight world champion. He showed what he’s capable of in his last fight, impressively stopping the undefeated Jack Bateson in the (12th and) final round (in November) to pick up his first pro (regional) title. There’s plenty more to come from Shabaz.”
Show and tell
The prime Manny Pacquiao had the combination of speed and power that was something to behold. He won his first title at flyweight and then stormed through the junior featherweight, featherweight and junior lightweight divisions after arriving in America. Following a split decision win against rival Juan Manuel Marquez in their second fight to take his junior lightweight title the question was how would Pacquiao fare moving up even higher in weight? There were serious questions about that when he challenged WBC lightweight titlist David Diaz on HBO PPV in his next fight. But Pacquiao looked awesome and showed he could handle the weight with no problem as he tore Diaz apart in a fight I covered at ringside at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao cut Diaz up, won every round and knocked him out face first in the ninth round to win a title in his fifth weight class on his way to winning titles in a record eight divisions. The fight was on June 28, 2008 — 15 years ago on Wednesday. Here is an extraordinarily rare site poster that hung in a Mandalay Bay light box during fight week in my collection.
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Photos: Zhang-Joyce photo: Queensberry Promotions; McCaskill: Matthew Pover/Matchroom Boxing
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