Joe Joyce briefly threw his hand into the air as Artem Suslenkov closed in during the eleventh round.
The image came only days after World Boxing News questioned whether the Briton should even have been in the WBA heavyweight title conversation.
Only days after WBN argued Joyce should not be handed a shot at Murat Gassiev’s full WBA heavyweight title, the Olympic silver medalist was stopped by the unbeaten Russian on the same Moscow card.
Joyce had been linked with replacing Tony Yoka after the Frenchman withdrew through injury despite arriving on the back of consecutive defeats to Derek Chisora and Filip Hrgovic and without a victory since March 2024.
WBN argued there was no justification for handing a fighter in that position a shot at the heavyweight championship.
The WBA opted for another route.
Joe Joyce title shot debate
Instead of facing Gassiev for the world title, Joyce was left to prove he still belonged in the conversation against unbeaten contender Artem Suslenkov.
He never did.
After a competitive opening, Suslenkov steadily took control before forcing an eleventh-round stoppage. Moments before the referee intervened, Joyce raised his hands as the pressure mounted, a split-second that summed up how dramatically his fortunes have changed since he stood among the heavyweight division’s leading contenders.
The defeat left Joyce with five losses in his last six fights and all but ended any realistic route back into the world title picture.
The issue was never whether Joyce would have accepted a title shot. Any heavyweight would.
The real debate was whether he had earned one.
The WBA still faces legitimate scrutiny over sanctioning unranked Peter Kadiru to challenge Gassiev for the full heavyweight title.
Had the sanctioning body elevated Joyce into the main event against Gassiev, the criticism would have been immediate. Instead, Saturday night’s stoppage vindicated WBN’s earlier stance that Joyce first needed to prove he still belonged at world level before another championship opportunity could even be discussed.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a veteran boxing reporter with 15+ years of experience. He has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside since 2010. Read full bio.
