“Are you not entertained?” Famous last words from Joe Joyce (16-4, 15 KOs), having dropped a unanimous decision to Croatian Filip Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs) in an absorbing 10 round war at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
The main event topped Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions maiden voyage on new home DAZN, with the app now slowly consolidating as much boxing promoters and networks as possible and now housing once-rivals-but-now-best-friends Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom under one umbrella.
And yes Joyce, we were entertained but where do we go from here? How many more ‘to the well’ wars do we need to see before Joyce suffers another damaging and potentially altering loss?
A Late Replacement Succeeds
Saturday’s original opponent opposite Joyce was supposed to be former title challenger Dillian Whyte, who has been remarkably consistent in being inconsistent over the last few years with failed drug tests and inactivity. He was stationed ringside with his protege Fabio Wardley, whose tilt with Jarrell Miller was made official with an in-ring face off preceding the main event.
Joyce vs. Whyte was a very good fight on paper, and a winnable one for both given the circumstances prior. So when Filip Hrgovic was drafted in as a late replacement for Whyte, who withdrew following a gnarly finger injury, concerns were heightened for Joyce as many considered Hrgovic to be an even more dangerous opponent than Whyte. Hrgovic was once upon a seemingly distant time now, considered to be the most avoided man in the heavyweight division, a title bestowed upon him by his then promoter Eddie Hearn.
But following the conclusion of Saturday’s proceedings, I couldn’t help but wonder that in Hrgovic, Joyce had actually found an even better dance partner than what Whyte might have been. And I say that because in Hrgovic, Joyce found someone who was just as content, largely by both design and choice, to do just enough that was needed to win the fight without wanting to press the action or have Joyce suffer another concussive knockout loss.
The chequered Croatian is obviously talented but questions have persisted in his career over his desire to close the show, his aggressiveness and his stamina failing him towards the second half of fights. His stamina was markedly improved on Saturday as he finished as the quicker, stronger and fresher man but we can’t escape the fact that it was against Joyce, who’s been brutally knocked out twice since 2023 and dropped a decision against Dereck Chisora last summer. There were several opportune moments for Hrgovic to really let his hands go and force a stoppage if he wanted to but he didn’t, and so Joyce lived long enough to see another day. Even in losing, Joyce managed to ‘win’ because he can say hey, at least I didn’t get starched by a 32-year-old in prime top 10 heavyweight.
Why Joe Why?
But therein lies the problem. Living to see another day but at what cost? Mike Tyson said it best once “This is not a tough man’s sport but a thinking man’s sport. A tough man is only going to get hurt in there.” And this is where we are at now. It’s painful to see Joyce, one of the sport’s genuinely nicest guys, carted out in a gross public exhibition to demonstrate how many layers of armour he has left, how many more beatings can he take, what level of ‘toughness’ is left to show. And all for what?
He was once known for his insane durability, relentless engine and granite chin. But his durability has faded dramatically over the last few years. His batteries are running on a decline and there’s no power or pop in his punches anymore. Joyce wasn’t the quickest in his prime but somehow, his hand speed has declined even more to the point I got the impression Joyce was boxing at minus 2.5 speed in contrast to Hrgovic. His chin has been dented twice by Zhilei Zhang in a pair of painful knockout losses. Even Derek Chisora, long in the tooth himself and one fight away from retirement, scored a knockdown over Joyce in their meeting. So on Saturday night, there was an improvement in this department at least as Joyce was on his feet all night but suffered some moments of torrid fistic abuse. Hrgovic could not miss with the right hand at any point in the night.
It’s the cruelest nature of boxing, to keep wheeling out fighters who are too tough for their own good and may not know any better, right until the better end with every last attribute of theirs has extinguished, including the one that every man takes pride in – toughness. Perhaps what deludes Joyce into continuing is another cruel twist in his destiny, and that is wanting to become the world heavyweight champion. That is a dream that is near enough in its coffin at this point, but it must linger in Joyce that two men he stopped years ago – Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker – are both former and / or current world champions who were slated to meet in February in Saudi Arabia. That fight was scrapped as Dubois discarded himself from the event but both men remain close to the elite level, yet it is their conqueror who has depreciated the most.
Hrgovic hinted at this logic as much in the post-fight interview, citing he wants Dubois next for his IBF strap as Joyce beat Dubois and Hrgovic beat Dubois. But one of Joyce’s finest hours in stopping Dubois was so long ago that any result of that should have no bearing on present day’s proceedings. Dubois exercised his demons and became a world champion and is still young enough to win a few more championships.
Joyce doesn’t have that same privilege of youth anymore and we’ve established that he doesn’t have the physical ability anymore to stay in world title contention. His team must have a serious think regarding their charge’s future. If Joyce elects to continue, then the matchmaking needs to be delicate, and he needs to stick to simply fun fights with no title ramifications as much health risk as possible. But this is a sport where anything can wrong at any single night. I’d hate for the once indomitable “Juggernaut” to be exiled to being a gatekeeper.
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