Trainer, commentator and fight analyst, Teddy Atlas, has expressed his concern for the health of one of the current crop of heavyweight contenders, uneasy about how long his body will be able to cope with the punishment that it so often receives.
Joe Joyce has built a reputation for having a ‘granite’ chin which served him well throughout his rise to the peak of the division.
However, at thirty-eight years old, Joyce has often been warned on how it is just a matter of time until that punch resistance begins to deteriorate and his reliance on durability leads to his downfall.
On his last outing, Joyce picked up his first defeat. The doctor put an end to his bout with Zhilei Zhang after the Brit’s eye completely closed.
Now, Joyce heads into the rematch hoping to avenge the lone blemish on his record and, on his podcast, Teddy Atlas said he was concerned for the fighter’s wellbeing.
“I just worry about guys like Joyce, that get hit that much, for so, so long. What happens later? Do you know what I mean? What happens when they’re not boxing no more, five years down the road?
Not everybody can be a Floyd Mayweather and I’m not saying that you have to be but teach these guys some basic art of defence. Move your head!”
It’s a long way back to the top for the loser of this weekend’s fight, with a combined age of seventy-eight between the two world title hopefuls.
Joyce will attempt revenge against Zhang on Saturday night at Wembley Arena, topping a card that features the likes of Anthony Yarde, Zach Parker and Moses Itauma, live on TNT Sports.
