True but there is a significant age difference between the 2 and Joyce didn't just lose to Zhang, he got pulverised twice. Parker was still in the Joyce fight going into the championship rounds. Joyce's biggest strength was always his chin and now that's gone it's easier to see why he's done.
But Joyce was always like that. slow, good chin and good engine. I don't think age means much for Joyce.
Exactly, & that's why it's easier to write him off quicker once the KO loss came. Parker had already come back from back to back losses and at 31 was never gonna be over for him. Age might not mean much to him but it factors into the fans thinking when calling whether someone is done or not.
That plus Parker has a lot more skill to fall back on than Joyce. If they both questioned their chins equally after KO losses, it would damage Joyce's effectiveness far more than Parker. Joyce relied on his chin and pressure to compensate for his lack of defence - if he doubts his chin enough to the point where he becomes easier to hit? Stick that pin in him. In that sense Chisora, even old shot Chisora, will tell us plenty about whether he's got much left to give.
Depends what experience we're looking at... Jalolov has more amateur and low-level pro experience now than he did then - Joyce has more experience of higher levels of pro fighting. It all depends quite how overhyped Jalolov is Vs how much Joyce has left.
Joyce looks like he aged a lot since let’s say the Dubois fight. I don’t think Joyce is at an upwards trajectory anymore. He might cling to the Top 10 for a couple more years but I don’t see him winning the title.
Do you think the chin is totally cracked or he can still tank shots from smaller punchers than Zhang?
I'd be guessing if I tried to answer that just yet... That kind of destruction can totally break a chin, and Joyce needs his more than most fighters - until we see him take some decent bangs, we won't know. In that sense, Chisora's not a bad choice - even though he should be retired, he'll still land a few decent shots.
Exactly. Some just can't help but jump at the most popular/widespread hype narrative... How many times do we have to see it?
I agree. IIRC, Usyk said Chisora hit him the hardest, maybe he could still land a big one on Joyce, and we'll see where he really is at.
Joyce´s defense was always underrated. He usually rolled with punches and he rarely ever got hit with something he didn´t see coming. It´s why he had such a good chin. These reflexes will go away with age.
True, the problem with Zhang is he's a counter puncher, you don't see them coming because he sets traps or hits you when you are throwing, which is what happened in the 2nd fight. I knew going in to the first fight this would be really dangerous for Joyce because of this, as he wouldn't be able to roll with every punch. His reflexes going will be his biggest issue. He's simply too big and slow to get out of the way of most shots, but if he can't react in time to even roll away from shots then he's in big trouble. The Chisora fight will give us an idea on what his chins like now as Chisora will no doubt lob those overhand rights he loves so much and no doubt land.
