Former Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce suffered his third consecutive loss against the undefeated Artem Suslenkov, further distancing himself from a heavyweight world title fight.
After winning the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Joe Joyce was once considered a serious contender for a heavyweight world title fight. However, following his loss to Artem Suslenkov, it will likely be extremely difficult for the British boxer to make another run at the title. In Moscow, Joyce suffered his third consecutive defeat.
Joyce ended the fight himself after eleven intense rounds when he signaled to his opponent that he didn’t want to take any more blows. Suslenkov (15-0, 10 KOs) showed no mercy and continued to land hard, powerful blows to the head of the defenseless Englishman before the referee finally stopped the fight.
Joyce (16-5, 15 KOs) kept getting caught in his opponent’s punches starting in the second round. Although he was able to effectively use his physical advantages and higher fighting weight at times in the early rounds, the Russian landed the clearer and more precise shots as the fight progressed. Up until the eleventh round, Joyce didn’t appear to be seriously shaken. In my view, the fight was evenly matched overall until it was stopped.
Finally, Suslenkov landed a powerful three-punch combination on the British fighter, which sent Joyce reeling. The Russian immediately followed up with another hard right to the head, after which Joyce himself signaled that he did not want to continue the fight. The loss in the Russian capital comes on the heels of consecutive defeats against Filip Hrgovic and Derek Chisora. It also marks Joyce’s fifth loss of his professional career.