Frank Warren will have a private discussion with heavyweight Joe Joyce regarding his future in the sport.

The 39-year-old Joyce suffered defeat again on Saturday, this time by unanimous decision to Filip Hrgovic at Manchester’s Co-op Live. Hrgovic, a late replacement for Dillian Whyte, was able to land heavy shots repeatedly on Joyce. In typical fashion, Joyce was able to absorb the punishment.

This was Joyce’s fourth loss in his last five contests, with two stoppage defeats to the hard hitting Zhilei Zhang in 2023, a 10th-round knockout victory over Kash Ali in March 2024, and a unanimous decision loss to the war-torn Derek Chisora last July.

Many called for Joyce to hang up his gloves after losing to the then-40-year-old Chisora, but Joyce decided to have another roll of the dice. Saturday’s contest represented a tough challenge, even with Hrgovic coming in on short notice, and Joyce failed again.

Again Joyce is hearing calls for his retirement after another display of defending power punches with his face. Joyce responded that he doesn’t need to retire yet.

But Warren, whose Queensberry Promotions represents Joyce, admitted it could be the end.

“I think he should sit down with his family, with his manager, his trainer, and he’s got to watch the fight back and then obviously make his decision,” Warren told BoxingScene. “I’ll have a chat with him as well, but I don’t want to go into that publicly. What I’ve got to say, I’ll say to him privately.

“He’s 39 years of age. He’s not any younger. He’s had a few losses in his last few fights. He’s a tough guy. He gives everything. You haven’t got to go looking for him. He’s in front of you. It was a close fight, in my opinion, on Saturday. I’m not complaining about the result, but it was a close fight. And there were moments in the fight where he was doing okay, but the heavyweight division is tough.

“It’s tough, and every fight he has, if he carries on, every fight he has, it’s going to be a tough fight. And they're going to be miles on the clock. There’s no doubt about it, but it’s all too soon for me to be saying anything. More importantly, what I have got to say, it’s best I say to him face to face.”