Joe Joyce channelled Arnold Schwarzenegger and vowed he will be back after a surprise defeat to Zhilei Zhang.

A sixth-round TKO issued a hammer blow to Joyce's heavyweight title ambitions, relinquishing his WBO interim belt after a commanding display by 39-year-old Zhang.

Pre-fight build-up largely orientated around what lied beyond the Chinese fighter for Joyce, who was in line for a shot at Oleksandr Usyk's belts with his position as the WBO's mandatory challenger.

However, he was third for that shot due to the rotational system in place among boxing's governing bodies, and his defeat has now knocked him out of the queue entirely.

The manner of Joyce's loss will be of the most concern, as Zhang issued consistent punishment to the Brit, particularly around the left eye – which eventually forced referee Howard Foster to bring the contest to a halt.

Though expressing regret at his display, Joyce vowed to return after issuing an apology to his fans.

"I'm just disappointed with my performance, I think the right hand he kept hitting me with I couldn't get out of the way," he told BT Sport.

"Respect to Zhilei Zhang, it was a good fight but I think I could have done better, I think because I haven't fought a southpaw for so long.

"Credit to him because he was a good fighter, and I gave it my all. I think I could do better but it's just disappointing.

"I just couldn't get away from his left hand, I kept on getting hit so I was disappointed, and I'd like to apologise to all of my fans and supporters.

"But I also want to thank you for coming down here, I'll be back, my journey's not over this is just a hurdle I may have tripped over so I'll be back."

A rematch against Zhang remains a likely priority, particularly with other mandatory challengers due to get their shot at the titles first, and Joyce suggested he could take another fight before settling the score.

"We're going to discuss it," he told the BBC. "I could have one in between. I'm just going to decide. I'm going to have some time off and reflect and watch the tape back and see where I went wrong."