British WBO interim heavyweight champion and knockout artist Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) defends his belt against China’s 2008 Olympic silver medalist Zhilei Zhang (24-1-1, 19 KOs) in the 12-round main event live on ESPN+ from Copper Box Arena in London, England on Saturday, April 15. Kicking off the fight week, the fighters held a media workout.
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Also partaking in the media workout was American former unified super featherweight champion Mikaela Mayer (17-1, 5 KOs), who makes her lightweight debut in the ten-round co-main event against Dominican Republic-born, Greece-based former two-time junior welterweight champion Christina Linardatou (14-2, 6 KOs).
In Australia, the event airs live on Kayo on Sunday, April 16.
Joe Joyce
Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) captured a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and debuted as a pro following year. The 37-year-old has notched wins over former world champs Bermane Stiverne and Joseph Parker and against title challengers Carlos Takam and Bryant Jennings.
In his last fight, Joyce stopped Parker in the 11th round to capture the interim WBO title. The undefeated knockout artist is on the path towards a potential showdown with heavyweight king Tyson Fury, but he’ll need to defend his strap against a fellow silver medalist.
Zhang Zhilei
Zhang Zhilei (24-1-1, 19 KOs), a 2008 Chinese Olympian, started his career in the paid ranks in 2014. He went 22-0 and captured various regional titles before fighting to a draw against Jerry Forrest in 2021.
The 39-year-old then scored stoppage wins over Craig Lewis and Scott Alexander before suffering his first pro loss against undefeated Olympic bronze medalist Filip Hrgovic. In terms of height and reach, Zhang and Joyce are identical as both are 6’6” tall with 80-inch reaches.
Mikaela Mayer
Mikaela Mayer (17-1, 5 KOs), a 2016 U.S. Olympian, signed with Top Rank in 2017 and captured the WBO junior lightweight championship with a unanimous decision victory against Ewa Brodnicka in October 2020. The following year, the Los Angeles native unified the WBO and IBF titles against Maiva Hamadouche.
In her last fight, Mayer suffered the first defeat of her career, a razor-thin split decision setback to Alycia Baumgardner at London’s O2 Arena. Mayer wants to reverse her lone defeat, but she’ll first step up to lightweight to face Linardatou, the only woman to defeat Baumgardner in the paid ranks.
Christina Linardatou
In 2016, Christina Linardatou (14-2, 6 KOs) unsuccessfully challenged Delfine Persoon for the WBC lightweight world title. She then bounced back with four straight wins, including a victory over Baumgardner and a win against Kandi Wyatt to capture the vacant WBO junior welterweight championship. Linardatou lost the belt to Katie Taylor in 2019 but regained it with a unanimous decision over Prisca Vicot in February 2020. Linardatou returned from a 29-month layoff last July with a six-round points victory against Aleksandra Vujovic.
Get Joyce vs Zhang full fight card.
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