Eddie Hearn Says Joe Joyce Takes Too Much Punishment To Be Considered Elite
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn claims “Juggernaut” Joe Joyce (15-1, 14KO) is a fighter that takes too much punishment, after watching him get peppered by newly crowned WBO Interim titlist Zhilei Zhang’s (25-1-1, 15KO) left hand the entire fight.
Opinions continue to roll in from Zhang’s upset victory over Joyce on April 15. Their fight was like watching a one-sided sparring session where one fighter was clearly the superior boxer. The theme of the fight was the remarkable ability of Joyce’s chin being able to stand up to anything.
In the end, it wasn’t the chin that betrayed him. Juggernaut, for the love of god, did not move his head off the centerline and eventually was stopped due to the enormous swelling of the right eye. The running opinion inside the boxing community is he got exposed. But in being honest, Joyce has never displayed supreme boxing ability. His signature is to absorb punches while coming forward and overwhelming opponents with pressure.
EDDIE HEARN CALLS FOR JOYCE TO REMATCH OR RETIRE
During an interview with talkSPORT, Hearn did not hold back in stating that Joyce is not elite. He even suggested retirement if he doesn’t rematch Zhang.
“The reality is Joe Joyce is not an elite heavyweight . . . 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, and it was really uncomfortable to watch on Saturday.”
Before suffering a devastating loss, Joyce was considered one of the major players in the division. His impressive victories over WBA Regular champion Daniel Dubois and former world champion Joseph Parker catapulted him to the top of the division.
RELATED: Joyce: “Beating Parker Shows My Class; I Belong At This Top Level
Joe Joyce has revealed that he won’t seek a rematch despite having a rematch clause. Instead, he wants to take an interim fight. Whether he should retire is the real question, and it’s a tough one that he will have to think about over the next couple of weeks.
