David Haye details Joe Joyce's biggest advantage in Zhilei Zhang rematch
David Haye believes that Joe Joyce's dedication to working on basics like head movement will be his key to victory against Zhilei Zhang on Saturday night.
The former world heavyweight champion has spent time behind the scenes with Joyce in camp as he prepares for his rematch at the OVO Arena Wembley, and has noted a few key changes to his training. The Brit was heavily favoured to win last time out, but his granite chin proved his undoing as he took too much damage to his eye and was stopped by the doctors.
Haye, a former world champion in his own right at heavyweight and cruiserweight, knows what it takes to come back from a defeat. And despite the fact that Joyce himself is a big man, he will be considerably smaller on the night, much like Haye's peak at heavyweight.
"I believe he has what it takes, he's shown that he sure as hell has got the toughness to weather the early storm that Zhang loves to come with," Haye told Mirror Fighting . "He comes out of the blocks fast, is a big man throwing punches from the southpaw position and although he got peppered up pretty nice he was still standing.
"He had zero per cent head movement or any acknowledgement of any punches coming in his direction, it was a crazy kind of kamikaze game plan. His chin held up but obviously his eye just didn't and I know he's a lot better than that performance suggests and I've seen him up close and personal in sessions where he was preparing for southpaws in the past and he was moving his head."
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Joe Joyce was once promoted by David Haye, and the pair are still close (Getty Images Europe)And Haye believes that despite previous performances against Zhang and Joseph Parker, Joyce will be able to show off his impressive reflexes. Standing 6'6" and weighing anywhere between 257-275lb, he is known more for his style that earned him the nickname 'Juggernaut', but Haye feels he could have even more in his locker.
"He's got decent reflexes for a big guy although watching that fight against Zhang or his fight with Joseph Parker you wouldn't have seen that... I always thought the walk-forward terminator style would work up to a certain level but I thought possibly the Joseph Parker fight with his punch power after he lands flush on the button that it would buckle his legs or even put him over.
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"The way he absorbed those punches from Parker I think everybody jumped on the 'he's invincible' bandwagon and believed he had a cast-iron chin. Joe is human and we're all human and against a Parker who's in the twilight of his career them shots might bounce off, but against a bigger guy who is so strong, he's found the level where that walking through gunfire style will take him.
"It took him to a stoppage loss with a damaged eye so he has to readjust, stop walking into that southpaw left hand because it's a power shot and Zhang will have all the confidence going into this fight... I anticipate Zhang being improved in this rematch as well but Joe will be able to weather the storm."
Watch Zhang v Joyce II live on TNT Sports 2 and discovery+ from 7:30pm on Saturday 23 rd September. For more info visit: tntsports.co.uk/boxing
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