Joe Joyce's Night Ends in a No Más Moment as Artem Suslenkov Scores Career-Best Victory

Johnny Faraće
Jul 11
2 min read

Joe Joyce appeared to mentally check out before the fight was over, and from my perspective, this looked like a fighter who had simply had enough.

MOSCOW, Russia — Artem Suslenkov remained unbeaten Saturday night, stopping former heavyweight contender Joe Joyce in the eleventh round to retain the WBA Continental heavyweight title.

The official result goes into the books as an 11th-round technical knockout, but what happened in the closing moments will likely be what boxing fans remember.

Joyce was backing away under pressure when he raised his hand during the exchange, signaling that he no longer wanted to continue. Suslenkov did exactly what every fighter is taught to do—he continued punching until the referee stepped in and officially stopped the contest.

The News

Result: Artem Suslenkov def. Joe Joyce by TKO, Round 11

Division: Heavyweight

Venue: VTB Arena, Moscow, Russia

Title: WBA Continental Heavyweight Championship

The victory keeps Suslenkov undefeated and gives him the biggest win of his professional career.

For Joyce, it is another difficult setback in what has become a troubling stretch late in his career.

Johnny's

Take

I watched this fight, and I'll be honest—I was surprised by what I saw.

To me, Joe Joyce didn't just lose.He looked like a fighter whose mind wasn't in the fight long before it was over.

I've been around boxing my entire life. I've seen fighters exhausted, hurt, and completely spent. I've seen fighters saved by their corner. I've seen referees stop fights because a boxer couldn't defend himself. This didn't look like any of those situations.

This looked like a modern-day "No Más" moment.

Joyce didn't even wait to return to his corner. Right in the middle of the round, he raised his hand as if to say, "I'm done.

That's a difficult thing to watch from a fighter who has built his reputation on toughness.

Now, only Joe Joyce truly knows what he was feeling. Maybe he believed he was protecting himself. Maybe something was physically wrong that we couldn't see. Those are possibilities we have to acknowledge.

But based strictly on what I watched, it appeared that he had mentally checked out of the fight.

As fighters, we're taught one thing from the first day we lace up gloves:

If the referee hasn't stopped it...

If your corner hasn't stopped it...

The fight isn't over.

What This Means

This victory could open meaningful opportunities for Artem Suslenkov, whose stock rises considerably after defeating a recognizable heavyweight name. Joe Joyce now faces serious questions about his future.

At 40 years old, after multiple difficult defeats and another punishing performance, it's fair to wonder whether this marks the beginning of the end of his career.

Only Joyce can answer that question. But after watching Saturday night's performance, I don't believe the biggest issue was physical. I believe it was mental.