The heavyweight division has always been the one that brings the real eyeballs to boxing. After a span of years that was considered a slump, the last five or so years have been exciting times within the division, and it has all led to us having a realistic shot at getting an undisputed title fight. Leave it up to boxing and politics to get in the way, and now we aren’t sure we get any of the desired matchups. One fight that will be happening this summer is the rematch for the interim WBO heavyweight title between the champion Zhilei Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KOs) and former title holder Joe Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs).
When I checked in with Zhang the day after the big win against Joyce, he said that the heavyweight division was a mess and hoped to face Tyson Fury. That didn’t exactly happen as when those talks started to intensify, out comes Team Joyce to activate the rematch clause for another shot at ‘Big Bang’ Zhang. A source close to the situation has revealed to ProBoxTV that the targeted date for that rematch is at the end of August, with the location still to be determined. That would have the rematch and potentially Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte 2 in the same month, with Fury looking to return in September against TBD. Also, this summer, we are supposed to get unified champion Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois. The heavyweights may dominate August through September, which is always good for boxing. Lastly, let’s not forget about this supposed December fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder that is supposed to take place in the Middle East. Let’s hope we get all of these matchups and nothing silly gets in the way.
In the meantime, it’s Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez fight week, and NYC has a lot going on as it’s also Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend. If you are in NYC attending the pre-fight festivities and heading to the Hulu Theater on Saturday night, WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhang will be at a prefight party hosted by Jomboy Media, with details posted below.
BIG BANG CONFIRMED!
— Dan Canobbio (@DanCanobbio) June 5, 2023
Zhilei Zhang will be at our Fight Night Pregame!
4-7pm at Jack Doyle's
First 50 tickets get a free drink!
GET TICKETS: https://t.co/zCFnbZsGMQ pic.twitter.com/HWhn4yOXAG
