Froch And Warren On Joyce Retiring, Hearn Rules Out AJ Vs. Joyce

In heavyweight boxing news, Carl Froch discussed whether Joe Joyce should retire following his second successive loss to Zhilei Zhang.

Joyce failed to gain revenge on Zhang, who had stopped Joyce in the sixth round in the first fight. But this time around, the stoppage was a whole lot quicker.

The Chinese stopped the Brit with a right hook in the third round following sustained pressure with his left hand. Although Joyce did turn up at a career heaviest weight, the changes he made in his camp did nothing to impact the outcome.

The punch power and durability was absent for the second fight in a row as the boxer is entering into the latter parts of his career at the age of 38. With that being said, Froch questioned if Joe should walk away from the sport.

Froch On Joyce

“Zhang could have done that whenever he wanted, in my opinion. The first fight, he was took out in a similar manner. I know his eye closed, but he was getting caught with them shots. Now his punch resistance has gone and that’s why I think it could be the last we see of Joe Joyce.

“That could be the end of Joe Joyce, in my opinion, because of where he is in his career. That’s back-to-back defeats, he’s 38 years old, and he’s not going to be able to change his style. He tried there tonight, he tried a few different things. So, I just think, ‘Where does he go from here…“I think that could be curtains for his career,” Froch

Nevertheless, that was not the noise coming out from Joyce following the defeat. The ‘Juggernaut’ was adamant that he still had plenty left in the tank moving forward. And yet, at the age of 38, the boxer is unlikely to get a world title shot.

Therefore, moving forward, there are questions over the motivation for Joyce fighting. There would still be potential big domestic fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. But in reality, would those fighters want to face a wounded Joyce?

Hearn On Joyce

As such, Eddie Hearn has ruled out a fight between Anthony Joshua and Joe following the latter’s loss to Zhilei Zhang.

Joyce came up short once again at the hands of Zhang. The defeat demonstrated a lack of durability, something which Joyce is known for through his nickname, ‘the Juggernaut.’ Although Joe against AJ would be a big domestic fight, Hearn has ruled it out for the safety of Joe.

“He’s 38? He’s taken a huge amount of punishment in sparring, in fights. His greatest asset was his ability to take punches and walk through them – he can’t do it anymore. Zhilei Zhang is a good fighter, he’s not an elite heavyweight, in my opinion, but he’s a world-class heavyweight.

“No, that would be dangerous. Honestly, he shouldn’t be boxing…AJ punches as hard as Zhang with much more speed. It’s not the right fight to make,” Hearn

Nevertheless, Hearn has not ruled out a fight between AJ and Zhang. The pair did face each other in the amateurs during the London 2012 Olympics.

During the course of that process, Joshua beat the Chinese on his way to winning an Olympic gold. But given that both fighters have changed a lot since then, Hearn was keen on making it happen.

“Absolutely. AJ has always fancied that fight. He beat him in the amateurs, it was a good fight. Of course, [we’d do it in China]. Money talks, we can do it at Wembley [Stadium]. We want to make the Wilder fight. I think Zhang is an easier fight, it’s still dangerous, but why not?” Hearn

Warren On Joyce

Those comments were also backed up by Frank Warren, who called on the fighter to consider where he should go next. Moving forward, getting Joyce a big fight will be difficult.

The boxer has lost his invincibility making his name no longer marketable amongst the top heavyweights. And that is why Warren urged Joyce to make his next move wisely.

“He’s 38, but he’s not got a lot of miles on the clock as far as being a pro boxer is concerned. It was his 16th or 17th fight. We’ll see. It’s up to him. He seriously needs to consider it (retirement), because it’s not going to be an easy journey back. There are some good fights out there but none of those fights are easy,” Warren stated