By Sam Volz: Eddie Hearn says Joe Joyce must rematch Zhilei Zhang next to try and avenge his sixth-round TKO loss or retire because he’s lost his spot to challenge for a world title after losing his interim WBO heavyweight title last Saturday night.
Hearn feels that the 37-year-old Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs) won’t gain anything by taking a fight in between a rematch with Joyce (25-1-1, 20 KOs), as he talked about possibly doing because nothing will change. In other words, Joyce won’t gain any hand speed or defensive ability to improve his game before fighting Zhang again.
Some boxing fans believe that Joyce made a big mistake by timing down from 271 lbs to 256 lbs for his fight against the hulking 278 lbs because the weight loss appeared to leave him weaker than he’d been in his recent fights against Joseph Parker and Carlos Takam.
Hearn isn’t buying that theory. He feels that Joyce was too limited defensively and in terms of his skills, making him vulnerable against the two-time Olympian Zhang.
In Hearn’s eyes, Joyce’s loss proves that he was never in the same class as his fighter Anthony Joshua, who the promoter feels is one of the top four elite heavyweights in the division.
Many fans would argue with Hearn’s opinion, as there are a handful of contenders that would likely defeat the faded-looking 33-year-old Joshua, one of which being Zhang.
Joyce has a big decision to make
“I thought Joe [Joyce] was two rounds away from getting Zhang to start gassing, but he took too much punishment,” said Hearn to iFL TV, reacting to Joe Joyce’s loss to Zhilei Zhang last Saturday. “They [Joyce] got found out. That’s what they got.
“His best win before was Joseph Parker, and Joseph Parker is well past his best. Dubois got outboxed by Joe Joyce,” said Hearn in minimizing two of Joyce’s best career wins.
“Joe has a massive decision now, massive, because if he doesn’t rematch Zhang, he should retire, and I didn’t like what I was hearing, which was the interview where he said, ‘Maybe I’ll have one first, and then I’ll go back into it.’ You rematch Zhang, or you retire because you’re 37.
“What are you going to do? Have a ten-rounder in November and then get to 38 or 39. If you can’t beat Zhang, you ain’t winning a world title, no way.
“Now it’s like, “Zhang is the new powerhouse of heavyweight boxing.’ This is what I’m talking bout, people. He’s a good fighter, but he’s [Zhang] a lump. Wilder destroys him. Tyson Fury destroys Zhang. AJ destroys Zhang. We’d take that fight. We don’t want a southpaw, but I’m telling you that we looked at that fight.
“When I mentioned Zhang in all the interviews and people said, ‘What a joke, Zhang. 40-years-old.’
“Now Queensberry have the rematch and options on Zhang. But if I’m Joe Joyce, I’m calling up Queensberry this morning, and I’m saying, ‘Give me that rematch now.’ Luckily, no damage to his eye. Just bruising. It was a good fight, a really good fight.
“I think Joe Joyce has plenty of heart, but you can’t deal with elite heavyweights. I mean, people talk about the speed of Zhang. He ain’t fast. Get in there with AJ or get in there with Wilder and see what fast is like.
“This is what I keep saying. There are four elite heavyweights in the world. Anthony Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, and then there are the rest, which are world-class heavyweights. Joe Joyce has never been in that elite list, never.
“You guys look at the situations he’s been in, the size of the fights he’s been in, the opponents he’s faced, and you make decisions that he could steamroll everybody. It doesn’t work like that,” said Eddie.
Zhang-Joyce rematch will be a huge fight
The [Zhang vs. Joyce] rematch is a great fight. I hope they make it, and if I’m Joe Joyce, that’s the only fight,” said Hearn. “Can he win it? Yeah, I think he can. Will he win it? Maybe not, but you lost your position. Last week, Joyce said, ‘AJ needs me because I got the [WBO] interim world title.’
“It’s the most bizarre comment I’ve ever heard, but whatever. Now Zhang has got the interim world title, and he’s mandatory for Usyk. So Joe has got to go out there and beat him, win that title back, and I hope he does.
“Listen, this is what happens when you get ahead of yourself and lose focus. Congratulations to Zhang. This is my opinion, I’m not slagging him off, but he ain’t elite. He can whack, and he’s a lump, but he ain’t elite.
“When people say Joe Joyce, ‘I really took the risk; I rolled the dice there against Zhang.’ At no point did anyone think they [Team Joyce] were rolling the dice. They thought they had a good opponent in Zhang and that Joe would do what he does. Walk forward and grind him down.
“People watched the Jerry Forrest fight and said, ‘He’ll gas out after seven or eight rounds,’ but it didn’t work out that way.
“He [Zhang] just won the interim world title. He’s bang in the mix. I think Tyson Fury should fight Zhang. He’s looking for an opponent. I know Bob [Arum] mentioned Andy Ruiz. I’m not sure Tyson Fury will be fighting Andy Ruiz. Maybe. I don’t think so.
“Last week, the whole topic of conversation was Anthony Joshua. ‘He’s finished. He’s a shot fighter. He’s this; he’s that.’ If you want to be super harsh, Joe Joyce has never boxed an elite heavyweight. Zhilei Zhang is not an elite heavyweight,” Hearn said.
Joyce “wasn’t good enough” for Zhang
“Joe, forget, ‘Came in light.’ He wasn’t good enough to deal with Zhilei Zhang,” Hearn said. “When you sell your attributes based on, ‘I’m really good because you can hit me as hard as you like, and I’m just going to keep coming.’ That is not a recipe for longevity in a career or, in my opinion, the kind of career that you necessarily want in boxing.
“He gets hit with absolutely everything, Joe Joyce, and sooner or later, at 37, I would understand if Joe Joyce retired from boxing. He’s taken over the years, don’t forget how many amateur fights he’s taken unbelievable punishment in sparring, amateur tournaments, and even the professional code.
“It was really uncomfortable watching that on Saturday, and I think Jo Joyce is great. I tuned in to watch him, but if you can’t beat Zhilei Zhang, you have absolutely no chance of winning a world title,” said Hearn.
