Eddie Hearn has summed up Joe Joyce’s defeat to Zhilei Zhang this past weekend, and stated Joyce should either immediately rematch the Chinese southpaw or retire.
Zhang overturned the bookmakers’ odds to deliver a career best performance to defeat Joyce, after Howard Foster waved off the contest due to damage to ‘The Juggernaut’s eye.
And Hearn did not hold back in his assessment of Joyce’s performance when questioned on the matter by IFL TV.
“The reality is, Joe Joyce has never boxed an elite heavyweight. Zhilei Zhang is not an elite heavyweight.
Joe wasn’t good enough to deal with Zhilei Zhang. When you sell your attributes based on “you can hit me as hard as you like, and I’ll keep coming!” – that’s not the recipe for longevity in a career.
He gets hit by absolutely everything, Joe Joyce. I would understand if he retired from boxing. He’s taken unbelievable punishment in sparring, in amateur tournaments and even in the professional code.
The reality is Joe Joyce is not an elite heavyweight.
If you can’t beat Zhilei Zhang, you have absolutely no chance of winning a world heavyweight title. If he doesn’t rematch Zhang, he should retire.”
‘Big Bang’ proved he had enough to deal with Joyce and then some, causing the Brit all sorts of problems from the first bell.
Zhang’s southpaw left couldn’t miss the stationary Joyce, who was visibly shaken on numerous occasions throughout the contest
A contractual rematch clause is in place should Joyce opt for it, but he hinted in his post-fight interview that he may take an easier fight in the interim.
As for Joshua, he seems to have changed his mind on fighting three times this year and announced he won’t be back in the ring until December.