Joe Joyce suffered a crushing defeat through Zhilei Zhang after a sixth-round stoppage on the Copper Box Arena in London.
The referee, Howard Foster, referred to as off the competition with Joyce maintaining important swelling to his proper eye as China’s Zhang secured the WBO meantime heavyweight name.
Londoner Joyce, 37, have been anticipated to effectively protect his place as WBO meantime champion and deal with his unbeaten report in his sixteenth bout. But the 39-year-old Zhang’s immediately left hand did the wear, leaving Joyce on unsteady legs as early as the hole around.
The ringside physician tested Joyce’s broken eye sooner than the beginning of the 6th around, and he was once referred to as for a 2d time all over the similar around sooner than Foster stopped the struggle.
“I’m disappointed with my performance,” mentioned Joyce, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist. “It was once a just right struggle, however I may have completed higher.
“I’ve no longer fought in opposition to a southpaw for goodbye. Credit to him. He is a great fighter and I gave it my all. But I anticipated to win. I want to express regret to all my lovers and my supporters. I will be able to be again and my adventure isn’t over.