No Filter Boxing - Zhilei Zhang vs Joe Joyce II
Sep 24Sparks flew on a stunning evening at Manchester's AO Arena as Joe Joyce took on heavyweight rival Joseph Parker in a pulsating contest, exclusively live on BT Sport Box Office HD.
Contesting for the vacant WBO interim heavyweight world title, both men put on an absolute barnburner from the first bell - but it was Joyce who outlasted a brave Parker to ensure he will be confirmed as the next challenger to the incumbent WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk's belt.
If you've not yet watched this unmissable event, click here to find out all the ways you can purchase Joyce vs Parker and catch up on BT Sport Box Office.
Joyce vs Parker: Nowhere to run
Two of the toughest men in the heavyweight division clash for the interim world title tonight. Book your seat now for Joyce vs Parker, exclusively live on BT Sport Box Office HD from 6pm.
Click through the links below to skip to the fight of your choice as BTSport.com kept you up to date with proceedings throughout the evening on whatwas a cracking night for British boxing.
Amanda Serrano vs Sarah Mahfoud
Michael Magnesi vs Anthony Cacace
Fury sets deadline to agree Joshua fight
As expected, the Gypsy King is in the house tonight at the AO Arena to show his support for team-mate Joseph Parker on his heavyweight main event assignment against Joe Joyce.
However, the 32-year-old set tongues wagging once again as he provided an update on talks between Team Fury and Anthony Joshua's representatives ahead of their proposed megafight in December.
Dressed in typically loud suit and sat next to promoter Frank Warren on the front row, Fury told Queensberry's Dev Sahni: "I was optimistic three weeks ago but it shouldn't be taking this long to sign a contract. We'll know by Monday anyway because if it's not done by then, I'm moving on.
"I'm not waiting around for some guy who's lost three of his last five fights."
Parker announces November 5 Andrade showdown
Super-middleweight world title hopeful Zach Parker all but confirmed a November 5 showdown against former two-division champion Demetrius Andrade on the BT Sport broadcast.
Undefeated Parker told Jo Ankier: "The main man Frank Warren is winning purse bids again so hopefully me and Andrade are going to fight in November.
"The 5th of November, there are still one or two things to iron out, it could be in Nottingham or London but it doesn't matter where it is, Zach Parker is coming home with the win.
"I'm just ready to fight. Andrade has had a shoulder injury but we're here now and hopefully the fight gets made."
The fight was originally planned to take place at Pride Park - the home of Parker's beloved Derby County - earlier this year but Andrade's injury forced the bout to be scrapped.
Andrade vacated the WBO middleweight title last year but the governing body have sanctioned November's contest to be for the interim super-middleweight world title.
Joe Joyce def. Joseph Parker via KO, R11
Joe Joyce defeated Joseph Parker in a heavyweight firefight that will go down as one of the best in recent memory following a stunning 11-round war in Manchester.
The 37-year-old emptied the tank during a gruelling, exhausting war in which both men can emerge from their heads held high.
However it was Joyce who triumphed, finally breaking Parker's resistance in the 11th round with a concussive left hook that sent the former WBO champion tumbling to the canvas in decisive fashion.
Now the WBO interim heavyweight king, Joyce already has his eyes set on a showdown against the incumbent champion Oleksandr Usyk at some point in 2023.
Greeted by an electric atmosphere inside the AO Arena, the tempo for the fight was set from the off as both men, who weighed in the heaviest they both ever have done previously, immediately set about landing power shots in bunches.
Famously never too hard to find, Joyce provided an early reminder of how he has managed to weaponise his durability by soaking up a number of huge clobbering right hooks from an energetic Parker.
But the effect of Joyce's power quickly began to show on Parker's face as he reddened around the eyes and bled freely from his nose just two rounds in.
That early success kicked Joyce into another gear as he began to pour it on, smothering a cornered Parker with a dizzying arsenal of shots to body and head.
They were not thrown without reply from a determined Parker however as the Kiwi fighter bit down on his gumshield and he momentarily halted Joyce's barrage, landing a big right hook in the third.
It was clearly a shot that Team Parker had worked on with trainer Andy Lee identifying Joyce's low left hand as a potential chink in the armour of Joyce's teak-tough exterior.
The attention will now turn to both Joyce and Parker's next fights after an intense battle in Manchester.
And while Joyce's ability to take a shot is no secret, it must still have shocked and demoralised Parker that his punches appeared to barely register with the man advancing before him.
There were moments of success for Parker though as the fight continued, each big shot greeted with a roar by Parker's sizeable entourage and travelling fan base from his adopted home of Morecambe.
But Joyce was unrelenting in his pressure, cutting a composed figure as he mixed attacks to Parker's tiring body and increasingly swollen head - even as he continued to absorb punishment that would have downed most other men.
Finding a home for his pneumatic jab time and again, the finish looked tantalisingly close on more than one occasion for Joyce only for Parker to prove his mettle and keep the contest alive with lionhearted commitment.
Something needed to give heading into the crescendo of the fight though as the tempo finally relented for the first time with two wearied warriors throwing defence out of the window on the hunt to finish the fight.
Joyce always appeared the more likely to make it happen - and he finally did left when a concussive left hook clobbered Parker square in the forehead, scrambling his senses and sending him to the canvas for the first time in the fight.
Parker's corner looked tempted to climb the ropes looking to save their man from further punishment but their intervention was thankfully not needed as a discombobulated Parker was deemed unable to continue by the referee.
Amanda Serrano def. Sarah Mahfoud via UD
Seven-weight world champion Amanda Serrano received a warm welcome from the crowd on her UK debut as she looked to snatch the IBF featherweight crown from Sarah Mahfoud in the chief support at the AO Arena.
However, the WBO, WBC and IBO queen did not have it all her own way in the opening round as the Dane boxed cleverly at range to frustrate Serrano through the first two minutes, reddening the right eye of Serrano with a decent jab.
A clash of heads early in the second left Mahfoud with a cut on the hairline of her head and the sight of crimson clearly set off Serrano's killer instructs as she stalked a retreating Mahfoud looking to land power punches to the body.
Walking forward with hands down into the third round, Serrano had clearly decided Mahfoud didn't have the power to trouble her as she continued to assert her dominance on the physically inferior Mahfoud.
Puffing her cheeks out to greet the bell at the end of the third, Mahfoud walked back to her stool and came out for the fourth looking to keep Serrano on the end of her jab once again - but veteran Puerto Rican Serrano continued to turn the screw in search of a crowd-pleasing stoppage.
IBF queen Mahfoud looked unable to match Serrano's output in terms of volume or power but to her credit refused to throw the towel in, making Serrano work for every shot and forcing the three-belt champion to change tactics midway through the fit, hoping to bring Mahfoud onto her shots.
For all Mahfoud's championship spirit though, Serrano looked in almost complete control, dictating the terms of the fight throughout the middle rounds of the contest as she cruised to a victory that felt inevitable from early on.
Mahfoud's movement prevented Serrano from finding the killer blow that would have secured a 31st career knockout but hearing the final bell was a moral victory Mahfoud probably deserved for a brave showing on a bruising night for the now-former champion.
Nathan Heaney def. Jack Flatley via UD (technical)
You could have been forgiven for thinking you were inside the Britannia Stadium when Nathan Heaney made his ring walk shortly after 9pm as the Stoke middlewight was roared into the ring by thousands of loyal fans packing the rafters of the AO Arena.
Heaney made a great start to the first, wasting no time in finding his range as he reddened the face of Flatley with a few short shots on the inside.
The naturally bigger man by a considerable measure, Heaney looked to make his size and power advantage count in the second, planting his feet and digging in some meaningful shots to the body of Flatley.
Fired up by his corner after the second, Flatley looked to reverse the tide in the third, trying to put Haenaey on the back foot for the first time in the fight.
A clubbing right hand over the top certainly caught Heaney's attention and gave Flatley a much-needed confidence boost that seem to spark the man from Bolton into life as he began to find a home for his jab with ease.
By the end of round four, Flatley had reversed the momentum of the contest entirely, bloodying Heaney's nose with crisp, straight shots through Heaney's guard.
But the fight came to a premature end in the fight when a clash of heads left Heaney with an enormous, grim cut above the eye that left the ringside doctor with an easy decision to make.
The decision drew boos from Heaney's travelling faithful - but with four completed rounds concluded it meant the fight could go to the scorecards on which Heaney completed a clean sweep via technical unanimous decision.
Heaney's margin of victory probably didn't reflect Flatley's improvement in the second half of the fight - but the fighting pride of Stoke retains his IBO crown.
Anthony Cacace def. Michael Magnesi via SD
IBO champion Michael Magnesi delivered on his reputation as a ferocious competitor as he pushed Anthony Cacace to the limit during a brilliant 12-round super-featherweight affair.
The Italian visitor laid out his stall early on as looked to stamp his authority on Cacace during a cracking opening round.
However it was Cacace who landed the most eye-catching punch in the final few moments of the first stanza as he caught the bullish Magnesia flush, earning a rueful smile from the champion and a roar from the crowd inside the arena.
Keen to negate Cacace's range, Magnesi kept marching forward in the second looking to land short, sharp blows in bunches on the inside.
That proved to be the story of the fight with Cacace clearly playing the role of sniper while the unrelenting Magnesi refused to take a backwards step on his mission to make it a messy affair.
It looked like Cacace finally managed to dent Magnesia's titanium chin in the dying moments of the eighth round but Magnesi greeted three consecutive clean punches in the chops with a wide grin before marching back to his corner undeterred.
The spirited champion refused to surrender his belt with a whimper though and continued to push Cacace until the very last second before both men greeted the bell with an exhausted hug.
In the end, Cacace always looked the more likely to get his hand raised - but there were nervy moments in the Belfast man's corner when MC Thomas Trieber announced a split decision result.
Don't be shocked to see Magnesi back on British soil sometime soon after an entertaining outing that will not have harmed the 27-year-old's stock on the circuit.
Ekow Essuman def. Samuel Antwi via UD
When has a British title fight ever not delivered?
Ekow Essuman and Samuel Antwi put on a cracker to open up the pay-per-view card in a hard-fought contest that saw the champion retain his welterweight title after via unanimous decision.
The 14-1 man from London stunned Essuman on more than one occasion in the early rounds - but 'The Engine' lived up to his nickname and grew into the contest, pouring pressure on Antwi with flurries of combinations as the fight wore on.
Antwi's corner implored their man to try and keep the contest at range rather than fight Essuman's game - but that proved easier said than done against the tireless champion.
In the end, it was a deserved win for Essuman despite Team Antwi's best efforts to drum up support for their man by parading him around the ring to cries of 'And the new!'.
However, that marks a fourth straight British title defence for Essuman who will surely be eyeing bigger and better things in the not-too-distant future.
Mark Heffron def. Martin Bulacio via TKO, R1
Hometown hero Mark Heffron delivers an explosive reminder of the heavy artillery he carries in both hands as he blasted out Martin Bulacio in double-quick time.
Making his first appearance in the ring since securing the British middleweight title in July, 'Kid Dynamite' delighted his pocket of fans inside the AO Arena with a professional display finished off by a left hook to the temple that scrambled Bulacio senseless, giving the referee ample time to rescue the Argentine from further damage.
Raven Chapman def. Jorgelina Guanini via UD
An impressive performance from Raven Chapman as she improves to 4-0 and secures the WBC International featherweight title with a comfortable win over Jorgelina Guanini.
The result was never in doubt from the first bell with Chapman owning the centre of the ring from the off - and the 'Queen of Queensberry' looked as though she might secure a stoppage on more than one occassion as she hurt the Argentine with frequency.
In the end perhaps her inexperience prevented her from putting the exclamation mark on an otherwise solid outing but the 28-year-old certainly showed why she is rated highly by her stable.
