Derek Chisora has weighed in on the Joe Joyce retirement debate after seeing his countryman “quit” in round 11 of his clash with Artem Suslenkov.
The two heavyweights squared off in Moscow, Russia, last weekend, featuring on the undercard of Murat Gassiev’s successful WBA title defence against Peter Kadiru.
Put simply, it was seen as something of a crossroads fight, between a grizzled veteran and an unbeaten, 30-year-old fringe contender.
But while Suslenkov had remained unproven at any significant level, Joyce was coming off back-to-back points defeats to Chisora and Filip Hrgovic.
Even before those two setbacks, many were calling for the ‘Juggernaut’ to retire, especially after his devastating stoppage losses to Zhilei Zhang in 2023.
Yet Joyce nonetheless decided to roll the dice against Suslenkov, who seemed the much fresher combatant without applying any real pressure on his opponent.
Sure enough, though, their contest reached a stage where the 40-year-old could simply not bring himself to take any more punches.
Waving his glove in a sort of ‘No Mas’ manner, Joyce’s signal was eventually identified by the referee, who drew a halt after one final flurry from Suslenkov.
Speaking to Seconds Out after the contest, Chisora gave his interpretation of what could lie ahead for his fellow veteran.
“He just quit – that was it. He thought he had it in him when he was training, and then he said he was not fit. I’m like, ‘You were training, though?’
“You know when the fire goes out – when boxing retires you? This is what we talk about. Suddenly, you don’t have enough to stop these younger men.
“Boxing retired [Joyce] today.”
Interestingly, Chisora was targeted as an opponent during the early stage of Joyce’s career, back when the Olympic silver medallist was more mobile and, in truth, less shop-worn.
