Joe Joyce much lighter than Zhilei Zhang before heavyweight fight on Saturday

Briton Joe Joyce weighed 22lbs lighter than Zhilei Zhang for Saturday's heavyweight fight in London.

Joyce, 37, tipped the scales at 18st 4lbs (116kg), with China's Zhang weighing 19st 12lbs (126kg).

The Londoner is a stone lighter than his previous fight, when we he came in at a career heavy 19st 5lbs for the win over Joseph Parker in September.

"I don't know what's happened. It just seems to have fallen off," Joyce said on BT Sport.

"I've been disciplined. This is the business end of my career so I need to get things right."

Joyce - a 2016 Olympic silver medallist - has won all 15 of his professional fights, with 14 stoppages.

He will defend his WBO interim title at the Copper Box Arena, and is the mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk's full WBO world title.

Zhang - who won silver at the 2008 Olympics - has won 24 professional fights, with one draw and a sole defeat by Filip Hrgovic in August.

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'I probably needed to eat more'

The weigh-in took place at London's Spitalfields Market, nestled between stalls selling everything from artisan food to hand-crafted ornaments.

Joyce says the weight has naturally come off in recent months

The two heavyweight giants tipped the scales in front of a strong crowd, as boxing fans were joined by shoppers, diners and tourists who just happened to be passing through.

There was a solid cheer as Joyce appeared on the stage. He looked visibly trimmed down from the Parker fight and is at the lightest he has been in four years.

"I probably needed to eat more, but this is me feeling comfortable," he said. "It would be easier to move around without the added weight."

Joyce and 39-year-old Zhang have been jovial so far in the build-up, but there was an intense stare down - and no subsequent handshake - as the two 6ft 6in men went face to face following the weigh-in.

Loss would derail Joyce's world-title ambitions - analysis

Joyce has the world at his feet, and this could be the fight which finally propels him into bigger, and more lucrative, contests.

His stock has risen massively over the past couple of years, and even more so in recent weeks after Anthony Joshua's underwhelming points win over Jermaine Franklin.

With WBC champion Tyson Fury arguably the best active British heavyweight, a destructive Joyce victory this weekend would strengthen his claim of being number two.

Many fighters and pundits feel Joyce is the dark horse of the heavyweight division, and perhaps the only man who could trouble Fury or Usyk, who holds the WBA (Super), WBO and IBF belts.

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He has been WBO mandatory challenger since July 2021 and is deserving of his shot, but a loss against Zhang would completely derail Joyce's world-title ambitions.

There is a huge weight difference between Joyce and Zhang - which seemed to surprise the Englishman as much as it did the rest of us.

It adds an extra element of intrigue to this fight. Zhang is a heavy hitter and the home fighter cannot afford any complacency.

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