Veteran British heavyweight Joe Joyce lost his comeback fight against undefeated Russian Artem Suslenkov in Moscow, in what commentators described as a bizarre and dispiriting end to the contest. The 40-year-old, competing for the first time since his April 2025 defeat by Filip Hrgovic, looked lethargic and short of power throughout, before appearing to signal in the 11th round that he no longer wished to continue and stepping backwards. With Joyce offering little defence, Suslenkov landed further blows and the referee stepped in to stop the fight, prompting fears that the 2016 Olympic silver medallist's career may now be over.

The defeat leaves Joyce with a professional record of 16 wins and five losses, with all five defeats coming in his last six fights. The highlight of his career was beating Joseph Parker in 2022 to win the vacant WBO interim heavyweight title, before losing twice to Zhilei Zhang in 2023. Joyce said he had spent 12 months preparing for the bout against Suslenkov, who improved to 15-0, while former Great Britain team-mate Anthony Fowler called it "a sad end". The fight featured on the undercard of Murat Gassiev's first WBA heavyweight title defence, in which Gassiev stopped Germany's Peter Kadiru in the sixth round.