Joe Joyce much lighter than Zhilei Zhang before heavyweight fight on Saturday

Joe Joyce (left) was the lightest helium has been connected the scales for 4 years

Briton Joe Joyce weighed 22lbs lighter than Zhilei Zhang for Saturday's heavyweight combat successful London.

The Londoner is simply a chromatic lighter than his erstwhile fight, erstwhile we helium came successful astatine a vocation dense 19st 5lbs for the win implicit Joseph Parker successful September.

"I don't cognize what's happened. It conscionable seems to person fallen off," Joyce said connected BT Sport.

"I've been disciplined. This is the concern extremity of my vocation truthful I request to get things right."

Joyce - a 2016 Olympic metallic medallist - has won each 15 of his nonrecreational fights, with 14 stoppages.

He volition support his WBO interim rubric astatine the Copper Box Arena, and is the mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk's afloat WBO satellite title.

Zhang - who won metallic astatine the 2008 Olympics - has won 24 nonrecreational fights, with 1 gully and a sole decision by Filip Hrgovic successful August.

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'I astir apt needed to devour more'

The weigh-in took spot astatine London's Spitalfields Market, nestled betwixt stalls selling everything from artisan nutrient to hand-crafted ornaments.

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The 2 heavyweight giants tipped the scales successful beforehand of a beardown crowd, arsenic boxing fans were joined by shoppers, diners and tourists who conscionable happened to beryllium passing through.

There was a coagulated cheer arsenic Joyce appeared connected the stage. He looked visibly trimmed down from the Parker combat and is astatine the lightest helium has been successful 4 years.

"I astir apt needed to devour more, but this is maine feeling comfortable," helium said. "It would beryllium easier to determination astir without the added weight."

Joyce and Zhang person been jovial truthful acold successful the build-up, but determination was an aggravated look down - and nary consequent handshake - arsenic the 2 6ft 6in men went look to look pursuing the weigh-in.

Loss would derail Joyce's world-title ambitions - investigation

Joyce has the satellite astatine his feet, and this could beryllium the combat which yet propels him into bigger, and much lucrative, contests.

His banal has risen massively implicit the past mates of years, and adjacent much truthful successful caller weeks aft Anthony Joshua's underwhelming points triumph implicit Jermaine Franklin.

With WBC champion Tyson Fury arguably the champion progressive British heavyweight, a destructive Joyce triumph this play would fortify his assertion of being fig two.

Many fighters and pundits consciousness Joyce is the acheronian equine of the heavyweight division, and possibly the lone antheral who could occupation Fury oregon Usyk, who holds the WBA (Super), WBO and IBF belts.

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He has been WBO mandatory challenger since July 2021 and is deserving of his shot, but a nonaccomplishment against Zhang would wholly derail Joyce's world-title ambitions.

There is simply a immense value quality betwixt Joyce and Zhang - which seemed to astonishment the Englishman arsenic overmuch arsenic it did the remainder of us.

It adds an other constituent of intrigue to this fight. Zhang is simply a dense hitter and the location combatant cannot spend immoderate complacency.

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