JOE Joyce is fighting for his boxing life in Manchester tomorrow night, against a familiar foe with a very similar tale of woe.

Flash back two years, to the beginning of April 2023, and Joyce was riding high in the heavyweight rankings.

‘The Juggernaut’ had most recently stopped Joseph Parker in 11 rounds to solidify his position as a leading contender in the glamour division; his 14th knockout in 15 straight wins.

Jokes about his tranquillized style, both in and out of the ring, had faded away, replaced by a growing belief Joyce possessed both the chin and the power to one day conquer the world.

But with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk locked in prolonged unification negotiations, Joyce opted to defend his top spot against China’s ‘Big Bang’ Zhilei Zhang.

BIG BANGED

On Paper, Zhang – a colossal southpaw with Olympic pedigree – was coming off a loss to Croatian Filip Hrgovic.

In reality, Zhang’s unbeaten record was stolen by poor scoring and he arrived in London with something to prove.

And he found Joyce far too easy to hit; after busting up his right eye, eventually the ringside doctor stopped the fight in round 6, with Joyce’s eye almost completely closed over.

In the immediate rematch five months later Zhang was even more destructive, punishing Joe again for his lack of head movement; a highlight reel right hook ended it in round three.

The iron chin that had gotten Joyce this far was now broken.

EL ANIMAL

Elsewhere, following his controversial victory over Zhang, Hrgovic cruised to back-to-back insignificant wins over a couple of low-ranking Aussie’s.

Now 17-0 with 14 KOs, he was within touching distance of the heavyweight crowns himself and was billed as the favourite when matched with Daniel Dubois in Saudi last summer.

But the resurgent Brit, himself a former Joyce victim, dominated the fight and forced an eighth round TKO, brought on by cuts sustained from punches.

In the aftermath of his Zhang losses, Joyce bounced back with a poor points victory over limited domestic level opposition too, but looked equally as shot-shy in July as he shuffled arounds the ring to lose on points to 41-year-old Derek Chisora.

FAMILIAR FOES

Joyce vs Hrgovic is actually a rematch. They boxed as amateurs 12 years ago, with Joyce edging a split decision, but that has little baring on their return.

And whilst he may only be 32, no promoter is going to invest money in him as before now he’s fallen short when eventually stepped up.

Joyce, now 16-3 and turning 40 later this year, is in an even more precarious position.

His chin, his most intimidating weapon, has been exposed. His desire since has also been rightly questioned.

Both stand six-foot-six, but the speed and movement advantage is certainly with the younger man, who will likely tip the scales 30lb lighter than Joyce on Friday.

The power remains with The Juggernaut and, whilst Hrgovic will likely land – and often, he doesn’t possess the same weight or authority as Zhang did.

There is no Sunday morning for Joe Joyce the heavyweight contender in defeat. If he loses at the Co-op Live Arena, he’s got no place left to go in the sport.

That should motivate him enough to turn up, throw big punches in plenty of bunches, and connect with Hrgovic’s chin enough times to force the referee to eventually step in.

TIP: Joyce by TKO – 21/4

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