Joseph recently suffered a defeat to Filip Hrgovic
Joe Joyce, Getty Images
Promoter Frank Warren commented on the defeat of former WBO interim champion Joe Joyce (16-4, 15 KO) to Croatian heavyweight Filip Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KO).
“I didn't want to say it publicly, but it's going to be very difficult for him to get back into the game. He's been a great, courageous warrior for many years, a solid amateur and an Olympic silver medalist. I think he'll make a decision about what he wants to do next. That's the thing about boxing: you get to a certain age and these things can catch up with you.”
“I was really surprised. When Joyce got caught a couple of times, I thought he was going to lose early, but Joe took the punches. The crowd loves him, don't they? He's a nice guy. The judges didn't give him the win, but I'm not going to punch a man down.”
Hrgovic had the upper hand in the final rounds of his fight with Joyce, but he was unable to finish the fight early. In the end, all three judges gave the Croatian the win on points.
See also: Filip Hrgovic vs. Joe Joyce. Video review of the fight for April 5
Let us recall that Joyce was originally supposed to fight former interim world heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs), but the latter suffered an injury in early March, due to which he withdrew from the fight. Joyce's representatives quickly agreed on a fight with Hrgovic.
Joyce lost his second fight in a row, having previously lost to Dereck Chisora in July 2024. For Joe, the defeat to Hrgovic was his fourth in his last five fights.