Carl Froch appears sceptical over Joyce’s future in the ring
Joe Joyce made his return to the ring for the first time since suffering a brutal knockout loss to Zhilei Zhang in September. Joyce was victim to back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Chinese heavy hitter.
Joyce stood toe-to-toe with fellow Briton Kash Ali on Saturday as part of an action-packed Queensbury event. The fight proved a chance for redemption for the 38-year-old, who grabbed the opportunity with both hands securing a stoppage win in the dying seconds of the final round.
The former heavyweight contender started the fight slow, looking tentative through the opening half of the fight. However, he worked the body well, eventually tiring out Ali, allowing him to capitalise on his opponent’s drained gas tank as the fight progressed.
However, despite securing the knockout, not everyone was impressed with the ‘Juggernaut’s’ performance. Former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch did not shy away from criticizing the heavyweight’s comeback performance.
“I thought Joe Joyce actually struggled. He won, he was busy like he usually is, but he took too many punches on the chin,” Carl Froch revealed on his YouTube channel.
“When he steps up to the world level, he can’t take those punches on the chin. Zhilei Zhang done him twice, and that second fight was a bad knockout, that’s a worrying knockout.
“The way that Joe Joyce fights, he gets hit with too many shots. I wanted to see him come back and move his head a little bit more, get his hand in front of his face. Maybe get both his gloves up and just try and get off the straight lines and take less punishment.”
‘The Cobra’ went on to suggest that the London fighter might not have long left in the ring, suggesting the former Olympian starts considering retirement.
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Joe Joyce showed me that he probably should think about hanging his gloves up.”