Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has told Joe Joyce to hang up his gloves if he doesn't rematch Zhilei Zhang after his defeat to the Chinese fighter.
Joyce, 37, suffered his first professional defeat at the hands of Zhang, 39, in London this past weekend with an eye injury to the Brit stopping the fight midway through the sixth round. The fight has a rematch clause but Joyce admitted that he could face a different opponent instead of Zhang once his eye injury has healed up.
Hearn has now advised Joyce to retire if he doesn't fight Zhang next, telling iFL TV: "If he doesn’t rematch Zhang, he should retire. 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."
What are your thoughts on Joe Joyce's loss to Zhilei Zhang? Let us know in the comments section below
"He gets hit by absolutely everything. 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 Zhang, you have absolutely no chance of winning a world heavyweight title."
Joyce was unbeaten in 15 fights heading into his pivotal clash against Zhang, who is now the mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk's unified heavyweight world titles. 'The Juggernaut' has vowed to come back stronger after his first professional defeat and insists his eye injury is not as bad as it looks.
"I've had my loss but I'll be back," he told BBC Sport. "The journey will continue. I can still see through [the eye], I think it's just bruised. It's a formality to go to the hospital now to check it's not fractured or anything. It looks like I've got a terminator eye now. It's unfortunate but I'll be back. I thought I was doing well in there."
Zhang has called for fights against Usyk or WBC titleholder Tyson Fury next after picking up the biggest win of his career. The 6'6" giant - who turns 40 in May - suffered the lone defeat of his professional career to Filip Hrgovic on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's rematch against Oleksandr Usyk last August in a fight that many fans feel he won.
