Delicious Orie shares thoughts on Joe Joyce’s boxing future

Delicious Orie weighed in on the discussion surrounding Joe Joyce’s future after Joyce suffered his fifth loss in six bouts. Joyce, 40, who won Commonwealth gold for England and Olympic silver for Britain, turned professional and won his first 15 fights, including notable victories over Daniel Dubois, Joseph Parker, and Carlos Takam. However, his performance has declined since, with only one win since 2022—a late stoppage of Kash Ali in 2024—following a string of defeats that includes KOs by Zhilei Zhang and losses to Derek Chisora, Filip Hrgovic, and most recently, Artem Suslenkov this month.

Orie, who had a brief professional career and ended it after just one fight, expressed his views on Joyce’s situation. "It’s interesting with Joe. He’s a phenomenal athlete who did exceptionally well as an amateur and had a good professional career as well," Orie remarked. "I’ll be honest: I think he’s overstayed his welcome."

Orie noted that if he were in Joyce's position, he would have retired six years prior. He emphasized that age and performance decline go hand in hand, stating, "You can see it in his performance: it’s slowing down, and it’s so obvious."

Despite his critique, Orie acknowledged that he could not make a definitive judgment on Joyce's motivations. He suggested that athletes must decide based on their internal drive. "If that genuinely is Joe Joyce, and that’s what he believes deep down, then he should carry on, 100 percent."

Orie described the mental struggles that come with stepping back from boxing, saying it feels like losing one’s identity after years of hard work dedicated to the sport. He stressed the importance of recognizing when to step back for one’s health, especially for younger prospects in boxing.

He concluded that it is crucial for athletes to follow their intrinsic motivation, cautioning that it is a deeply personal decision to continue or halt their career. "If Joe Joyce doesn’t have real intrinsic motivation to do anything else, why should he stop boxing at that level?" Orie said.