The Official Announcement for Joyce-Zhilei Rematch is Here

The official date for the highly anticipated rematch between interim WBO heavyweight champion Zhang Zhilei and Joe Joyce has been set. The duo will square off on September 23rd of this year in London.

Queensberry Promotions is organizing the match, which is set to take place in the historic Wembley Arena. The rematch clause was invoked by Joyce, as specified in the contract for their initial bout.

It's worth remembering that the first encounter between Zhang and Joyce happened in April when Joyce suffered a technical knockout, thereby surrendering his interim WBO title. The fight was called off in the sixth round due to a significant hematoma around Joyce's right eye.

This defeat against Zhang marked the first loss in Joyce's professional career. It elevated the 40-year-old Zhilei into contention for a fight against the WBO/WBA/IBF/IBO titleholder Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk is scheduled to face Daniel Dubois on August 26th.