EDDIE HEARN has insisted fighting Anthony Joshua would be "dangerous" for Joe Joyce after defeat to Zhilei Zhang.
Joyce suffered the first loss of his career in April when Zhang battered his eye to the point of no return after six rounds.
And he bravely jumped right into a rematch knowing his career at the top level would be on the line.
This time around, it was an even more devastating finish as a lead southpaw right hook in the third left Joyce, 38, out for the count.
It leaves Joshua's promoter Hearn talking down the chance of the 2016 Olympian ever fighting AJ.
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He told iFL TV: "That would be dangerous. Honestly, he shouldn’t be boxing.
"He’s had a great career, he should’ve been Olympic champion, he won the interim world heavyweight title and I’m sure he’s made a lot of money as well.
"AJ punches as hard as Zhang with much more speed. It’s not the right fight to make, you have to protect these guys.
"It’s a car crash that fight. A car crash.”
Zhang, 40, is still the WBO "interim" champion and thus the mandatory challenger for the belt held by Oleksandr Usyk, 36.
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But Hearn has welcomed a massive fight between the Chinese star and Joshua, 33, in the Far East or at Wembley Stadium.
He said: “AJ has always fancied that fight.
"He beat him in the amateurs, it was a good fight. Of course, [we’d do it in China]. Money talks, we can do it at Wembley.
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“We want to make the Wilder fight. I think Zhang is an easier fight, it’s still dangerous, but why not?”
