Joe Joyce has activated the rematch clause for a second meeting against Zhilei Zhang following his shock loss last month.
Joyce was expected to make light work of the 40-year-old but was stunned in the sixth round of their heavyweight clash in London.
The Briton ended the fight with his right eye heavily swollen and there was conjecture he might seek an alternative opponent for his comeback fight.
Zhang had been tipped to potentially fight Tyson Fury next in July but the rematch clause means the Chinese fighter now faces a second bout against Joyce first.
Joyce’s manager Adam Morallee said: “I think he would have won the first fight had it continued and the eye hadn’t gone.
“I think he would have swarmed him in the second half of the fight. That was always going to be a fight of two halves and unfortunately he got injured in the first half.”
