Zhilei Zhang tells Joe Joyce 'I'm here to end your career' as British fighter aims for re-match win

Zhilei Zhang has told British boxer Joe Joyce that ‘I’m here to end your career’ ahead of their re-match on Saturday night, which will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

The Chinese fighter stopped his opponent in the sixth round during their initial fight in April to claim the WBO interim heavyweight title off Joyce.

It was the first loss of the Briton’s career, with the 38-year-old also losing his mandatory-challenger status to fight Oleksandr Usyk in the process.

During a press conference on Thursday, Joyce admitted that he wanted to reclaim the title this weekend, but a defiant Zhang said he had other ideas, claiming Joyce "made a mistake choosing him".

“For the first fight, you gave me the opportunity, but your team made a mistake in choosing me,” the 40-year-old Zhang said.

"Your team going for the rematch is a bigger mistake. I’m here to end your career."

Joyce admitted he had been "disappointed with his performance" when he was beaten by Zhang.

“I am disappointed with my performance,” he said. “It was a good fight, but I could have done better. He is a good fighter and I gave it my all. But I expected to win. I would like to apologise to all my fans and my supporters. I will be back and my journey is not over.”

During the initial bout, Joyce's right eye became severely swollen and was looked at by a ringside doctor before the sixth round.

During Thursday’s press conference, Zhang admitted that he was going to target Joyce’s eye again.

“There is no question I will aim for the eye in the re-match,” he said. “This is an instinct. In the first fight I had zero idea his eye would end up like that."

Reflecting on his first defeat, the British fighter conceded that he had made several errors but had since been working to improve.

“The first fight exposed a lot of mistakes me and my team made in the camp and it’s about correcting those," Joyce said.

"Not overlooking Zhang, I need to get those things right. A lot of small changes make a big difference. That’s what we’ve done.”

The pair also exchanged a few words during the meeting, with Joyce saying: “I want that title back he took from me last time. It [the belt] looks real shiny over there.”

Zhang responded: “I really enjoyed myself after the first victory. I see Joe today is, of course, trying to grab the title back.

“I just want to say that I’m the tiger and I’m hungry. And you don’t take food out of the tiger’s mouth.”

But the Brit wasn’t letting him have the last word, saying: “I want to take it off his plate, not out of his mouth.”

The coverage gets underway at 18:00 UK time, with the main event ring walks expected to begin at 22:30 UK time.

The undercard features an all-British clash as Anthony Yarde comes up against Ricky Summer.

Joyce v Zhang can be watched in the UK & Ireland on TNT Sports.

The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.

You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

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TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media