You’re asking the same question- it’s not a learning fight- Its a run out/confidence booster. Remember, Joe’s management get final approval on the options, so they are obviously onboard with it. I am expecting Joe will be in a big fight probably by early summer.
Agree entirely with this. It's easy to forget that Joyce got absolutely poleaxed last time out, after never being down before. Zhang is a huge hitter of course but it shattered the Joyce special sauce. If you're - for example's sake - a Saudi entertainment chief, and Frank is trying to convince you that Joe is worth another shot, you'd surely worry that Joe's lost his chin and aged very quickly. A win over Kash Ali surely isn't going to dispel those fears altogether. But at least if Joe gets him out of there in 3-6 rounds with a typical granite chin / granite fists combo, it gives you some confidence. Suddenly, matching him with someone like Kabayel, Hrgovic or Dubois may seem like a good idea, to give a good spectacle and be worth watching.
So potentially putting him in the shop window for a big fight in Saudi - as I'm arguing - to prove he isn't shot does nothing for his career? I mean, it's an argument and an opinion you're entitled to, but it's a pretty weak one imho.
Will most likely never be a World Title Fight now. The sport is sadly turning into a Saudi Loot Show - all positioning themselves to get on the undercard in Lootsville.
Pretty weak mate. For heavyweights, if you aren't boxing in Saudi right now, you're nowhere, and with the belts splintering, Joyce (no longer a mandatory) has to get back in the picture. By the end of March, all of Boxrec's top 10 heavyweights (+Wilder, Wallin and Ngannou) will have boxed in Saudi in the previous 6 months, with the exception of Joyce and Ortiz. Any step he can take towards that can only help his career.
I look on someone like Joyce as a person still having ambition to win a World Title. A win against a very poor Kash Ali is not going to suddenly propel him into a mandatory position or even a significant rise up the rankings. He learns nothing from fighting a soft touch either, simply wasting another 6 months taking him to 38.5 years of age, effectively writing off his chances of winning a World Title. If he simply wants Saudi Loot, he can always bash up Joey 12 again in a Riyadh rematch.