“I Was Really Shocked by This”: Fans Intrigued After Joe Joyce Breaks His Silence Post Loss to Zhilei Zhang

Running on the back of five consecutive knockout wins, it was almost certain that the fight against Zhilei Zhang on April 15 would be a picnic for Joe Joyce. The WBO (Interim) Heavyweight champion intended to retain the title against Zhang’s challenge. But what happened at the Copper Box Arena perplexed everyone. The heavy battering from the Chinese boxer convinced the referee to stop the fight by the sixth round.

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Joe Joyce was unbeaten till last year. His record showed fourteen of his wins coming by way of knockouts. Hence an entry into the big fights league was considered imminent. But, unfortunately, the Southpaw, Olympic silver medalist threw a spanner in the works. A month after the fight, the thirty-seven-year-old boxer sat with iFL TV to discuss the battle and the way forward.

What confounded most fans was seemingly an apparent absence of a plan to take on Zhilei Zhang. Particularly around the nine-minute mark, when asked, “Going into the fight, was there a game-plan?” Joe Joyce was found reflecting upon a suitable answer.

Many fans joined in to share their opinions. Let’s look at a few of them.

Was Joe Joyce ready for the fight? Fans ask

The discussion caught one user off guard. Joe Joyce is entirely at a loss for his intended course of action. To what extent is that feasible, he wonders.

Comment by u/Superb-Draft from discussion Joe Joyce breaks his silence following loss to Zhilei Zhang. Joyce would only "step aside" if a lot of money was offered. Joyce does not ruminate over what particularly lead to the loss. In his view, if he had won, he would not have worried about anything. He credits Zhang for being the better man. in Boxing

Roughly an hour ago, he emphasized that it’s easy to tell that little effort was put into the preparation. The user asks how Joyce entered the ring without sparring a single southpaw. The reality is that he has an inept crew at his disposal, he lamented.

When questioned about his ‘game plan’ for the Zhang bout, Joe Joyce’s silence, which might have lasted a good three minutes, stumped the following user.

Comment by u/5LYM3R from discussion Joe Joyce breaks his silence following loss to Zhilei Zhang. Joyce would only "step aside" if a lot of money was offered. Joyce does not ruminate over what particularly lead to the loss. In his view, if he had won, he would not have worried about anything. He credits Zhang for being the better man. in Boxing

Another user reckoned that Joyce ought to undertake some soul-searching. Blocking blows by putting the face forward barely helps and is neither successful against opponents who know how to breach it.

Comment by u/Hesospecial from discussion Joe Joyce breaks his silence following loss to Zhilei Zhang. Joyce would only "step aside" if a lot of money was offered. Joyce does not ruminate over what particularly lead to the loss. In his view, if he had won, he would not have worried about anything. He credits Zhang for being the better man. in Boxing

But unfortunately, it’s too late to make any alterations according to one user. Joe Joyce would be turning thirty-eight this year, so at best, he would have two fights left in him. After that, his current tactics might work against boxers such as Daniel Dubois but not someone like Zhang. The user mentioned that in Joyce’s next bout, he has a good chance of winning if he doesn’t get stopped due to a cut or swelling. But still, if he wishes to follow up a fight till the final round, he will need to avoid the straight lefts.

Comment by u/sdsinier23 from discussion Joe Joyce breaks his silence following loss to Zhilei Zhang. Joyce would only "step aside" if a lot of money was offered. Joyce does not ruminate over what particularly lead to the loss. In his view, if he had won, he would not have worried about anything. He credits Zhang for being the better man. in Boxing

Joyce thinks that he can improve his performance the second time around. According to an article on BoxingSocial, since the rematch clause has been activated, he believes he can do just that in front of his fans.

What’s your take on the reactions? Do let us know your thoughts and views in the comments section below.

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