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Undoubtedly, heavyweight's "big three" are Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Deontay Wilder. Sitting just behind those men is Joe Joyce, the former Olympic silver medalist who is undefeated as a professional. Joyce looks to creep closer to a shot at one of the division's elite three when he faces Zhilei Zhang on Saturday in London (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

Joyce holds the WBO interim title, making him one of the mandatory challengers for unified champion Usyk. Unfortunately for Joyce, the WBA and IBF mandatories have priority over the WBO in the rotation. The WBA recently ordered Usyk next defend his titles against their secondary champion, Daniel Dubois.

Joyce holds a November 2020 knockout win over Dubois, a fight that saw Joyce's jab shut Dubois' eye before finally forcing him to voluntarily take a knee and wait out the referee's 10-count. While Dubois has won four straight since that defeat, he is coming off a fight with Kevin Lerena where Lerena scored three first-round knockdowns.

"I respect Zhang's power, and I won't be going in there recklessly. He's a southpaw, too," Joyce said at the final press conference. "That's more of a tricky style than what I'm used to. The last southpaw I fought was Lenroy Thomas in my fourth fight, which was for the Commonwealth title. In history, that was really quick. I've only had 15 fights with 14 knockouts. I'm in for some proper fights and will give everyone value for their money."

Understanding the politics of boxing, Joyce's path to a title shot is simple: keep winning. And he's done nothing else as a professional, scoring 14 knockouts in 15 career victories.

There is also an outside chance Joyce could fight WBC champion Tyson Fury. Fury has referenced Joyce several times and both men are promoted by Frank Warren, removing many hurdles of potentially putting a fight together.

Zhang had followed a similar path as Joyce, turning professional after an amateur career in which he won an Olympic silver medal and rattled off 25 fights without suffering a loss.

Defeat finally came Zhang's way in August 2022 when he lost a decision to Filip Hrgovic. Many observers felt Zhang deserved the win against Hrgovic despite Hrgovic coming into the bout as a clear favorite. In that way, Zhang's first professional loss was not all that damaging to his career.

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The biggest setback for Zhang is that the bout with Hrgovic was to determine the IBF mandatory to Usyk's titles.

Both Zhang (39) and Joyce (37) are at ages where any setbacks in pursuing a title shot could lead to the opportunity never coming. Zhang has already missed out on one chance to become mandatory and now finds himself with another opportunity. Joyce, meanwhile, is already facing a long wait for his shot at a world title unless a fight with Fury comes together.

There may not be a world title on the line on Saturday in London, but the stakes are undeniably high for both men.

The undercard took an odd turn on Friday afternoon before the weigh-ins. Former women's super featherweight champion Mikaela Mayer is set for her return to the ring on Saturday for the vacant interim WBC lightweight title. She was originally supposed to face Christina Linardatou, but the British Boxing would not grant her a license to fight because of an eye issue. Now, Mayer will face Lucy Wildheart in the co-main event. Mayer is coming off her first pro defeat last October when she dropped a decision to Alycia Baumgardner.

"I like fighting in the U.K. I like the fans here. The energy they bring to the arena is always great," Mayer said at the final press conference. "They're a lot of fun. I feel like I did a lot of work in my last outing here in terms of media. It was a huge fight and the Queen had passed, so we had to come out several times to promote the fight. And I just wanted to continue that moment and come out here and put on a great performance in front of some great fans."

Joyce vs. Zhang fight card, odds

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

FavoriteUnderdogWeight class

Joe Joyce (c) -900

Zhilei Zhang +600

Interim WBO heavyweight title

Mikaela Mayer

Lucy Wildheart

Vacant interim WBC lightweight title

Denzel Bentley (c) -800

Kieran Smith +550

British middleweight title

Sam Noakes (c) -2500

Karthik Sathish
Kumar +1200

Commonwealth lightweight title

Prediction

Joyce has two qualities that make him one of the best heavyweights in the game: an iron chin and a heavy pace. He is one of the most durable fighters in the division, if not the most durable. Add to that the ability to push the fight better than most heavyweights and Joyce is made for winning fights where he can stand toe-to-toe, take an opponent's best shot and wear them down with his own thudding power.

Zhang hits hard and is also a big man, but he has more flaws and has now tasted defeat, even if unfair. That can change a fighter, especially one who knows that the clock is ticking on his career. Maybe he has the power to crack Joyce and pull off the upset, but that feels like a very unlikely outcome. Pick: Joyce via TKO9