Carl Froch has suggested boxing fans might have seen the last of Joe Joyce following his knockout defeat to Zhilei Zhang on Saturday night.
The British heavyweight was stopped in the third round by Zhang after being caught by a devastating right hand.
Defeat for Joyce at Wembley Arena follows a sixth-round stoppage against 40-year-old Zhang earlier this year.
The ‘Juggernaut’ activated a rematch clause to set up the rematch with the Chinese fighter, but Joyce was unable to win back his WBO interim title.
Former super middleweight champion Froch said on Talksport: ‘I don’t think Joe Joyce was ever going to win that fight, and I don’t think he’s ever going to beat Zhang. He’s just too good for him.
A devastating shot with the right from Zhilei Zhang stopped Joe Joyce in his tracks on Saturday night
Leaving the British fighter in a heap on the canvas in the third round of his rematch with the interim WBO title holder
‘The limitations that we’ve seen throughout Joyce’s career have been exposed in the last two fights.
‘It’s devastating for him because he loves the sport. But that could be the last we see of Joe Joyce.’
Joyce’s fabled chin was unable to withstand the devastating final blow after Zhang had softened him up with a barrage of shots with his left.
The ‘Big Bang’ now has his sights set on a fight with Tyson Fury, but Joyce’s short professional career could now be at an end.
And Froch felt as though the Putney-born fighter never showed any signs that he could win this rematch.
Former world super middleweight champion Carl Froch has suggested the defeat might be the last boxing fans get to see of Joyce
Joyce had already suffered a defeat at the hands of Zhang earlier this year but activated a rematch clause to set up Saturday’s fight at Wembley Arena
After the fight, Zhang asked the crowd: ‘Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?!
He said: ‘Zhang was able to find his range in the second round and do what he wanted, there wasn’t enough coming back from Joe Joyce.
‘There was no head movement, and he was too slow and static. Too cumbersome.
‘He was a sitting duck at times and it was a matter of when Zhang would decide to throw and go for it. He could do it whenever he wanted.’
With a shot at taking on unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk now all but over, it remains to be seen whether Joyce will continue his boxing career.