Joe Joyce Shuts Down Talks Of Retirement

Joe Joyce has no plans to retire anytime soon.

Joyce is coming off back-to-back stoppage losses to Zhilei Zhang and after the fight, many thought the Brit could retire from boxing. He’s no longer a title contender, but Joyce is set to return to the ring on March 16 against Kash Ali in Birmingham.

“It’s good to start the New Year with a bang. Get back into camp with a goal and a target and a fight date in March against Kash Ali,” Joyce said at Thursday’s press conference (h/t BoxingScene). “I’m looking forward to it. Get back to winning ways again, get a good fight, get stuck in and a nice victory and there’s plenty of fights on the horizon.

“The heavyweight division is thriving right now, especially with the new opportunities in Saudi Arabia. It’s really exciting times and there are plenty of good fights coming up in the division. I start the year off against Kash Ali and I’ve got a good few fights this year. I think it’s gonna be a good one,” Joyce continued.

Although some thought Joe Joyce would retire after his second straight loss to Zhilei Zhang, he says he has no thoughts of retiring. Instead, he believes he can make another run to the title.

“Styles make fights and a hard-hitting, durable counter [punching] southpaw who hits very hard and very fast is a bit…” said Joyce, who for his part never once considered retirement. “I thought I’d beat him first time around in the later rounds but the eye stopped that. The second fight, I learned from the first fight and corrected all my mistakes leading up. I did my best in the ring but didn’t get the result obviously.

“I did three rounds and afterwards I still felt fresh enough to do a couple of rounds of sparring. He got the beating of me and he’s a great fighter. I’m gonna see what he does next. I’ve heard he’s fighting Joseph Parker so I’ll be interested to see how that plays out. I’m still here, I’m not retiring and I’ve got plenty of fights left to be in. It’s an exciting time. Why retire now? It’d be crazy,” Joyce said.

Joe Joyce is 15-2 and before the back-to-back losses, he did have notable wins over Joseph Parker, Christian Hammer, and Daniel Dubois among others.

Do you think Joe Joyce will win in March?