By: Sean Crose
Chances are you’ve never heard of a Klondike Haynes. Chances are you haven’t heard of Willie Meehan either. Yet Haynes defeated the great Jack Johnson. And Meehan defeated the great Jack Dempsey. Furthermore, Johnson lost to Haynes and Dempsey lost to Meehan before each future legend won the world heavyweight championship. Indeed, every legendary boxer has countless losses on his résumé before he finally ascends to the throne of heavyweight. That’s something to keep in mind when highly regarded heavyweight Joe Joyce first tasted defeat.
Entering the ring last Saturday in London, it was assumed that Joyce would defeat Zhilei Zhang. However, when the match came to a halt in the sixth inning, it was the wonderful Zhang, not Joyce, who raised his hand in victory. Joyce did not fight poorly. Zhang simply fights better. The southern ape’s left butt kept hitting Joyce in the face, causing the Englishman’s eyes to swell oddly. Undoubtedly, seeing the absolutely brilliant Joyce, who some believed would trouble the division’s bigger names, came as a surprise to those who believed. However, for her part, Joyce showed tolerance and accepted defeat.
It’s a good thing. Looking back at the past can provide an insight into the newly defeated fighter. Because Johnson and Dempsey are not the only boxers to be crowned heavyweight champions after facing defeat. Gene Tunney was defeated by Harry Greb before reaching heavyweight glory. Likewise, Joe Louis was headed by Max Schmeling before becoming king of the heavyweights. While Joyce may not have reached the same heights as Johnson, Dempsey, Tunney, and Louis did (How many did?), there’s a good chance he can learn and grow from his previous failure. Zhang.
Joyce will have to get better, however. He appeared on Saturday to not be near the boxer level that could really trouble men like Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Deontay Wilder or even Anthony Joshua. However, it was Saturday. Today is Monday. And tomorrow may be long for Joyce. Provided he learns to stop fighting in an upright position, comes up with a Plan B when his powers don’t end things prematurely, and works at his pace, he can still live very well. with its potential. All the boxers had disappointing performances (Johnson and Dempsey had a few, so did Ali). As long as those disappointments are a one-off, Joyce will have plenty to look forward to.
