The more Zhilei Zhang tagged Joe Joyce on Saturday, the more uncomfortable I became. A boxer is taught to avoid shots completely or roll with them at the very least. However, in both Zhang-Joyce fights, the latter was continuously tagged as flush as a baseball bat striking the centre of a melon.
Despite admitting that he was completely unprepared for Zhang’s southpaw stance back in April when he lost via sixth-round stoppage, Joyce made no significant tactical adjustments for the rematch. As early as Round 2, he was being clattered by the Chinese southpaw’s straight left hand, and it was a single right hook that ended matters in the third.
MORE: Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce 2 full card results, Zhang crushes Juggernaut in three
Six months ago, Joyce was considered by many as a world champion in waiting. Now, there are those who think he should hang up his gloves for good. Boxing has always been an unforgiving sport, but given that Joyce’s main attribute – even before Zhang got a hold of him – was his ability to absorb punishment, is his capitulation something that we should have foreseen?
Like many fans out there, I was sold on Joyce. I’d watched the laid-back Londoner as an amateur and thought he was robbed of Olympic gold in 2016 when Tony Yoka was gifted a decision over him at super heavyweight. The subsequent controversy gave him a perfect backstory and the skids were greased for a successful professional career.
"Before the final, I put my phone on to airplane mode and, afterwards, when I put it back on, it almost blew up with the amount of messages I had saying I’d won the fight," said Joyce when I interviewed him for The Ring shortly after his return from Rio. "I was way ahead in terms of punches thrown and landed. (Yoka) was pulling Ali shuffles at the end like he deserved to win and I just kept hitting him."
Zhilei Zhang KNOCKS OUT Joe Joyce! 🥊 💥#ZhangJoyce pic.twitter.com/jfvUnFBvkg
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) September 23, 2023
One year later, Joyce turned professional in his home city of London. He stayed busy, notched up the stoppage wins, and fans were taking notice. If there was one criticism, it was that the hotshot prospect seemed way too easy to hit. However, no sooner was this flaw noticed than it suddenly became his number one asset.
"Nobody can hurt Joyce!"
"Joyce just walks through the punches!"
"If a fight was scheduled for 100 rounds, Joyce would never lose!"
We should have known better.
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Are there any boxing historians out there who can think of a fighter who benefitted from taking scores of punches in the long run? Even "The Greatest", Muhammad Ali, fell victim to his most famous tactic – the rope-a-dope. After befuddling George Foreman with this strategy in The Rumble in the Jungle, Ali fell in love with his ability to wear opponents out by letting them pound away at him. Less than six years later, Ali was suffering from the effects of Parkinson’s syndrome and his health declined quite rapidly.
Despite the vast majority of fans enjoying fights that feature blood, guts, and high contact, that’s not really what the sport is about. Floyd Mayweather is the most recent example of a defensive genius, comparable to elusive legends such as Willie Pep and Pernell Whitaker. In a 21-year career, one could count the number of flush bombs Mayweather absorbed on one hand. His reward? A 50-0 record, the Hall of Fame, recognition as the best boxer of his generation, and absolutely no sign of boxing damage whatsoever.
Love him or hate him – Floyd got it right.
You need a bit of everything in this sport. Remember when Deontay Wilder only had to be "perfect for one second" because he was the biggest hitter in the world? Eventually, someone survived a big punch and made a mockery of that philosophy. This is similar to what happened with Joyce. Suddenly, the shock-absorber approach didn’t work and the wheels fell off the "Juggernaut".
Let’s learn a lesson from what transpired here. The next time a fighter’s number one asset is their ability to absorb a punch, that should be one very large red flag.
