Joe Joyce's plans to reach the summit of the heavyweight division were left in tatters on Saturday night.
The previously undefeated Briton was pummelled to a sixth-round defeat by Chinese veteran Zhilei Zhang at the Copper Box in London.
Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs) could not get out of the way of Zhang's sledgehammer southpaw lefts from early on in the contest. Although his much-vaunted chin held firm, his right eye was swollen shut and midway through the sixth the ringside doctor advised referee Howard Foster to stop the contest.
The 37-year-old vowed to bounce back but he will have to pick his next move judiciously, with time not on his side in terms of negotiating the heavyweight world's unforgiving snakes-and-ladders landscape.
Here are some options that might get "The Juggernaut" back on track.
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Zhilei Zhang vs. Joe Joyce 2
Joyce has a rematch clause, so could go straight back in with Zhang (25-1-1 20 KOs). In the days and weeks that follow this shock setback, wounded pride might compel him to take this course of action. However, in the immediate aftermath of the fight, it was encouraging to hear Joyce speaking matter-of-factly about an immediate return.
"We're going to discuss it. I could have one in between. I'm just going to decide," he told BBC Sport. "I'm going to have some time off and reflect and watch the tape back and see where I went wrong."
When he watches the tape back, he'll witness a comprehensive Zhang victory and one where he had little answer to the 39-year-old's straight left or right hook that landed at will. A defeat due to an injury is always frustrating but Joyce's eye was hammered shut by repeated blows from a man who had his number on the night. Polishing his craft against another southpaw might be a more advisable initial step.
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Joe Joyce vs Otto Wallin
Since acquitting himself well in his only career defeat to Tyson Fury in September 2019, Wallin has won five fights in succession against solid but unspectacular opposition. He has been linked to Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua, although those fights have yet to come to fruition.
Joyce might be the best way for him to get that big headline show in Britain. Like Zhang, Wallin is a portsider but does not carry the same standard of concussive, face-mashing power. Of his 25 wins, 14 have come inside the distance. This fight feels like the ideal blend of a quality opponent and the appropriate level of risk coming off a defeat for Joyce.
Joe Joyce vs Dillian Whyte
Whyte was ringside at the Copper Box, talking up the prospect of facing Joyce in light of Joshua's apparent intention to remain out of the ring until December. Some of the shine came off that proposal with Joyce's defeat but it's still a very attractive bout that would do fine business in the UK.
After his one-sided loss to Tyson Fury and laboured win over Jermaine Franklin, Whyte needs a statement win to prove he still belongs within the heavyweight elite. Joyce's credentials in that regard are not as iron-clad as anyone suspected. Joyce vs Whyte feels like the sort of bout where the loser would be left with nowhere to go, which only adds to its high-stakes appeal.
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Joe Joyce vs Martin Bakole
Bakole (18-1, 13 KOs) extended his ongoing winning streak to seven fights when he defeated Joyce's old amateur rival Tony Yoka away from home in Paris. The 29-year-old also had designs on another former Juggernaut foe, calling out Daniel Dubois before the WBA ordered Oleksandr Usyk to face the Briton as his next mandatory obligation.
A fight with Joyce in the meantime could be an attractive alternative, with an all-action affair likely. Bakole is not shy when it comes to airing acerbic opinions and alongside the affable Joyce an entertaining build-up would ensue. For Joyce, Bakole represents an alternative route back to the top of a governing body's rankings after losing his lofty status with the WBO against Zhang.