How do you delete your Substack? Asking for a friend

Zhilei 'Big Bang' Zhang battered big Joe and ruins title plans but worst of all - made me look a bit silly.

Saturday night, the drinks were flowing and I'd just detailed a contemporary history of the heavyweight division to a vaguely interested but mostly accommodating friend. It wasn't just the free espresso martini that had me buzzing. It was big Joe Joycey back in action. There I was, stating my concern that Zhang might get seriously hurt in the fight whilst failing miserably to sort a stream. Seeing the fight unfold through twitter was about as painful as I imagine Joe's head feels right now. For those who didn't nuzzle up to my first post - to quote the most audacious bit:

Wow. The newsletter I've been waiting for the perfect moment to pop out, left the Substack outbox harbour at 3pm and by 11pm had reached the big left hand-laden iceberg. Yet here I am, like any great fighter, back in the gym after taking an L. Rewatching it a third time yesterday, I was still my shaking my head in disbelief. Which incidentally, is more head movement than Joyce seemingly managed in 16 minutes and 20 seconds of the contest. Still, his incredible chin held up. It's just a pretty well established medical fact that eye tissue don't quite have the same durability as bone.

Pre-fight it was all optimistic but what you do in the privacy of your own home is your business Joe.

There's a long precedent for this result. Face-first fighters fill seats. The excitement they offer transcends from aficionados through to casual fans where the money lies. Gloves on faces, butts in seats. This was meant to be the fight which would move Joyce onto a big stadium-filler. Yet this high risk approach can come undone at any moment.

Only a few weeks ago we saw the same happen to one Sebastian Fundora. A lanky welterweight whose all-action, high-output fights have seen him go back and fourth in brutal wars of attrition. Comfortable taking punches to let off his own, he gambles on his own durability to see him through opponents. He may hail from Coachella, but it was not party time that weekend I'll tell ya. Ahead on the cards but with his opponent well in the fight, he was stopped heavy in the 7th round against an 1/11 underdog in Brian Mendoza. The hype train derailed. Fundora much like Joyce, arguably had too much of a focus on what the future beckoned rather than the task in hand. When their toughness didn't work, there didn't seem to be a fallback.

The penny drops for Sebastian Fundora who might have reflected in this moment that blocking punches with your face might have limitations. Still, we can't wait to see him fight again.

Arguably, this result makes everything with the heavies more exciting. In fact I'd go as far as saying it's blown the division wide open. Yeah, I said it. Zhang, leaving the fight pretty unscathed makes him a spicy option for Fury's rumoured summer outing. Zhang's previous fallibility also makes him a target for the bigger names currently rebuilding. Wilder and Joshua in particular - though there are fresh rumours their fight may be happening in December now. Not to discredit Zhang's performance, but the result was in a large part much about Joyce's inability to adjust as it was Zhang's success. Any coach will spot that. Due to the production on the night it was at times difficult at home to hear the words of Salas and Tibbs (both incredible trainers) in the corner. Yet any guidance they did suggest didn't seem to be imparted at all by their charge. The changes needed to mitigate what Zhang did effectively are not insurmountable and to add to that, any fight he is in is guaranteed entertainment. His stamina past 6, is still in question. Some fighters would be confident they can hold out and take him in the distance, much like Jerry Forrest almost did.

Big Zhang getting a well earned hug after the biggest win of his career.

One thing is for sure, whether you agreed with the verdict or not - Hrgovic's win over him looks all the more better now - somewhat elevating him back into the status as a tough opponent. Zhang now offers an achievable stepping stone towards a bigger match-up. One with a bigger reward for the risk. His stock has risen significantly. As such it's also been revealed by Zhang's team that Frank Warren has promotional options on his next fight. Quelle surprise, this morning there's an article from the big man heaping his praise on him. There will be money to be made for whoever steps up.

Whether Joyce opts for the rematch clause or not remains to be seen and the wounds are still fresh. He took the loss like a champ. We are seeing far too many needless rematches lately (Woods v Lara 2, Fury v Chisora 3, Haney v Kambosos…) but this one has intrigue. He's capable and with the UK public in his corner, we'd love to see Joyce bounce back into it. There's no question that he's earned it and even the greatest of British heavyweights have had an off night they've later recovered from. Still, it would be just as enticing to see him move onto a fight with Whyte for the sheer slugfest factor. The decision needs to be made sooner rather than later. Warren knows this. With Joe being 37 and Zhang is 40 in a matter of days, time is of the essence. They need to shoot their title shot in a matter of months, not years.

One thing I would say, I personally feel the most interesting fight to see him in is against Wilder. Who it has to be said has a history of struggles with southpaws, if I were Malik Scott I'd be hesitant to let them fight. In both fights with Ortiz he was getting bested - granted before KOing him and those with an even better memory recall him having problems with a fairly game but ultimately limited Arthur Spilka. Ortiz had particular success in the shorter range - it would be interesting to see those Zhang's long-straight lefts getting down the pipe in the same way Fury constantly managed with his back hand. We all know that Wilder can and always will have the ability to end the fight in a second. Making it a tense contest, truly determined by who might land first.

Anyway, lessons learned this weekend. Back at it with an even bolder prediction for Saturday night.