Joe Joyce takes the first step on the long road back to a heavyweight title shot this on Saturday.
After suffering back to back defeats by Zhilei Zhang, Joyce (15-2, 14 KOs) fights his former sparring partner Kash Ali (21-2, 12 KOs), 32, on Saturday’s “Magnificent Seven” in Birmingham, and knows that every fight has become a must-win.
“I’ve shared the ring with him and sparred him so I know what he’s got,” he told Queensberry Promotions. “He’s got some good boxing skills but I don’t think he’s going to be enough for ‘The Juggernaut’ when I come storming in, bashing him up and knocking him out.
In April 2023 Zhang produced an outstanding display of accurate punch selection, ultimately shutting Joyce’s eye and forcing the ringside doctor to stop their fight after six rounds. Five months later he returned to Britain and left no room for argument, when he knocked the Londoner out in the third.
Heavyweight knockouts always attract attention but seeing a fighter who seemed as indestructible as Joyce taken out in such clinical fashion was particularly jarring.
The Olympic silver medallist is 38 years old and has had an attritional career but ignored calls for him to retire.
Steve Broughton has replaced Ismael Salas as the main voice in his corner for Saturday’s fight, which should provide a good idea regarding whether the violent defeats by Zhang were the years of wear and tear finally catching up with him. For his part, Joyce isn’t dwelling on the past.
“It’s been difficult but that’s in the past,” he said. “We’re in the present now, which is a present.
“He [Ali] is a good fighter like they all are. Heavyweight boxing is unpredictable and it only takes one shot. Every fight is a risky fight but I need to be beating him if I want to go to the next stage and beat the top fighters in the division.
“There will be a time for the new wave of heavyweights to come through but I’ve still got plenty of time. I still haven’t completed my long-term goals in boxing so I need to keep stomping and marching on.”
Joyce doesn’t have to look too far for inspiration. In September 2022 he was at his relentless best when he bludgeoned Joseph Parker to an 11th-round defeat. Rather than disappearing to the fringes of their division, Parker regathered himself and has recorded five victories. After upsetting Deontay Wilder and Joyce’s conqueror Zhang over the past three months, the 32 year old is arguably the world’s form heavyweight.
Joyce is unsure as to whether Parker’s decision over Zhang makes his victory over the New Zealander look even better but, aware that repeating the victory would give him a shortcut right back to the top, he would happily give him the former WBO champion a chance of revenge.
“It goes both ways,” Joyce said. “If Zhang had won does that make it make my loss to him better? It’s a difficult one.
“I was definitely rooting for Joe. I’ve known him longer but you can see at the top level of boxing that you never know what’s going to happen. It’s such a risky sport. You think someone’s going to win and the complete opposite happens. That’s why it’s exciting. Heavyweights carry the power and you can see the style matches.
“He [Parker] has got a rematch with Zhang first and then maybe we can run it back again. It was a quality fight. A long gruelling fight all the way to the 11th round. I enjoyed it. He’s rebuilt himself and had five good wins.
“You can see my road to rebuilding. First I’ve got Kash Ali on Saturday and then you can see me in loads of other great fights. There are plenty of match ups to be made.”