Joe Joyce has lost four of his last five fights, he’s 39 years old, and retirement remains an alien notion to the British heavyweight. Last night, in Manchester, England, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist gave it his all against Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic but came up short on the cards after 10 gruelling rounds.

Those who feared Joyce’s punch resistance is fading were perhaps proved wrong, such was the Englishman’s obvious durability. That he took so many punches while exhibiting that quality should be more of a cause for concern, however.

“Everyone gets behind a statement, like ‘oh his chin’ or I’ve got CTE, all this crap,” Joyce told The Stomping Ground following his latest defeat. “I’ve still got my wits about me, I still enjoy myself and there’s still plenty of good fights out there.”

There are indeed fights out there for Joyce, 16-4 (15 KOs), but whether he’ll again stand in the home corner as a contender, rather than in the opposite one as an opponent, remains to be seen. Joyce, though, exhibited his toughness and handed Hrgovic – his old amateur rival – one of the hardest nights of his 18-1 (14 KOs) career.

“I feel good, it’s pretty much like a hard spar but it’s good to share the ring with Filip Hrgovic again,” Joyce said. “It was a good fight, it was close. There were moments where his eye was going in the third round, he was bleeding and I was trying to target it but he had his guard up, then the corner did a good job of covering it up.”

There is no covering up the passage of time; Joyce is no longer the “Juggernaut” who

 defeated both Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker. But he clearly still wants to fight.

“When it’s time then I’ll hang the gloves up.”