Ringside Report: Zhang Stops Joyce

Ringside Report: Zhang Stops Joyce

By Matt Elliott

Albert Einstein once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. Well, on the back of last night’s knockout defeat to Zhilei Zhang, Joe Joyce is probably in the process of being strapped into a straitjacket and transported to the asylum.

Rewind twelve months, and Joyce had just impressively brushed aside the challenge of Joseph Parker to become the WBO interim heavyweight champion and take his place in the queue to face Oleksandr Usyk. An exact year to the date of that victory, Joyce will be waking up this morning, questioning whether he has already made his final ring walk as a professional boxer after suffering back-to-back defeats.

If the defeat to Zhang in April was surprising, Joyce’s approach to the fight wasn’t. On too many occasions in previous fights, Joyce has allowed his opponent to land clean shots, either through poor footwork, the inability to display any kind of head movement or a combination of the two, but he had always gotten away with it. As he fell to a TKO defeat in that first showdown, his right eye a shocking visual of the punishment he had absorbed, you felt Joyce must have finally learnt some valuable lessons and come to terms with the fact something had to change.

In the weeks leading up to the rematch, that was the narrative that was building. How would Joyce adapt, and what game plan would he put into motion to gain his revenge and once again restore the hope of a future world title shot? When he took to the scales on Friday afternoon, he weighed in at a career-heaviest 281lbs, and a whole two stone heavier than back in April, and that could only mean one thing; he was going for the knockout.

As he made his entrance to the arena, Joyce looked calm and confident. He appeared a man determined to get the job done and make revenge the order of the day. After the formalities were done and the first bell rang, it was a very cautious start, perhaps unsurprisingly as Joyce looked to do everything to avoid the left jab of Zhang, a shot which had caused so much damage last time out. In doing so, Joyce expended a lot of energy in bouncing around the ring; perhaps not the best gameplan so early on, especially for a man carrying an additional two stone of weight.

If the first round was a non-event, things were about to change. In round two, it was as if we had been teleported back to fight one. Zhang continued to throw the left jab and combined this well with the right hand, before the shot of the round, another straight left, hit its intended target without so much as even a trace of head movement from the Brit. As the round ended, Joyce appeared frustrated as he turned and headed for his corner. Whilst early concerns had already crept in, nothing could prepare us for round three.

Zhang remained upright between the rounds, clearly sensing weaknesses and eager to pounce. Joyce started the round well, though, and appeared to be making inroads as he followed Zhang around the ring, but then disaster struck. Joyce, his back to the ropes, flicked out a left jab at Zhang, who responded with one of his own, before immediately unleashing a huge right which landed clean and sent Joyce crashing to the canvas for the first time in his career. He gallantly attempted to beat the count and made it to his feet as Steve Gray hit ten, but the referee rightly called it off, with Joyce in no position to continue.

It was a devastating defeat for Joyce, who was checked over before returning to his corner and sitting disconsolately on his stool as Thomas Treiber confirmed the result. He then made the walk backstage, presumably contemplating what had just happened and where he goes from here.

When the dust settles, Zhang will turn his attention to a world title fight. He is next but one in the queue for Usyk, so perhaps he will follow up on his post-fight promise and try and coax Tyson Fury into the ring. That would certainly be an intriguing clash. For Joyce, you have to wonder if this is it for him. His world-title dreams are now in tatters, and it is difficult to see a route back. At thirty-eight and as a former Olympic silver medallist, he can look back on his career with pride, and perhaps now is the time to walk away, although deep down you feel he will be unwilling for his story to end like that and will seek to add at least one more chapter.

Photo Credit: PA Media