Joe Joyce fell to his fourth defeat in five fights at the hands of Filip Hrgovic on Saturday night in Manchester.
‘The Juggernaut’ was once viewed as a heavyweight champion in waiting, but losses to Zhilei Zhang (twice), Derek Chisora, and now Hrgovic have seen him slip down the heavyweight rankings.
Calls for his retirement have been getting louder with each setback, yet Joyce insisted in the immediate aftermath that he will box on.
“Yeah, [I want to continue]. Are you not entertained?” said Joyce.
The mic was then passed to his promoter Frank Warren, who urged Joyce to consider his next steps.
“He has got to go and have a really serious think about his future, which is what he will do,” said Warren.
“He’s been a brilliant servant to British boxing, he is never in a boring fight and is tough as old boots.
“He did us proud in the Olympic Games, silver medallist and should have had the gold. Let him think about it.”
The fight was an absolute barnburner throughout.
Hrgovic started fast, landing several big right hands to Joyce’s once seemingly impenetrable chin.
But the Brit wore them well, and by the end of the opening stanza, Hrgovic was breathing heavily.
The second stanza saw more of the same from Hrgovic, although Joyce enjoyed more success as he opened a nasty-looking cut above the Croatian’s left eye.
The fight had been billed as a last chance saloon for both men, who entered the contest fresh off devastating defeats, and there was a sense of desperation to their work as they let their hands fly.
By round five, the ferocious pace was starting to get to Hrgovic, who withdrew to the back foot.
Shipping right hands intermitently, the travelling fighter found himself trapped against the ropes, while Joyce poured on the pressure.
The higher-quality work was coming from Hrgovic, but the volume swayed in Joyce’s favour.
In round eight, a thudding flurry appeared to buckle Hrgovic’s knees, although the 32-year-old came back firing to finish the frame strong.
Round nine picked up from where the last one left off as both men threw hell to the wind.
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Hrgovic appeared to get a second win as he forced Joyce onto his heels with some sharp combinations.
The tenth and final round was epp and flow action, with both men exchanging heavy blows.
At the end of the fight, there was a feeling that it could go either way, yet all three judges scored it 97-93, 96-95 and 98-92 in Hrgovic’s favour.
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