Joe Joyce is a name which has become well-known to the British public. The 6’6 280lb heavyweight had a decorated amateur career achieving an Olympic silver medal and getting wins over many current names. In the amateurs, Joyce beat Frazer Clarke, Tony Yoka, Bakhodir Jalalov, Ivan Dychko, and Filip Hrgovic. And when turning to the pros he did not disappoint with his unrelenting pressure and clubbing shots.
The Rise And Fall of Joe Joyce
Joyce’s first major fight in the pros was against current IBF world champion Daniel Dubois and impressed. Joyce could nullify Dubois with ease making great use of a ramrod jab. He managed to break Dubois’s orbital bone resulting in him taking a knee and being counted out. This win has aged wonderfully.
Following this he bulldozed former contender Carlos Takam and journeyman Christian Hammer. He would then have his best win against current contender Joseph Parker. Joyce would tire out Parker with his work rate and finish him in round 11. Another win that aged wonderfully.
But then it all started to go wrong with the fights against Zhilei Zhang. In their first fight, Zhang couldn’t miss with his left hand massively damaging Joyce’s eye. Joyce was unable to get off his usual pressure and eventually, the fight was stopped in round 6. However, prior to the doctor’s stoppage, as the fight went on, Joyce was having more success. This led to an immediate rematch which did the most damage with Joyce being knocked out badly by Zhang in 3 rounds. These losses have aged fairly well given what Zang has gone on to achieve.
After some time out he came back against journeyman Kash Ali looking a bit slower but got him out of there. Then came the Chisora fight which should have been a walk in the park. Chisora, although we all love him, is very washed, having pretty dreadful cardio and limited output. Despite this, he was able to consistently land big rights hands on Joyce all night long dropping him in round 9. Chisora then won a well-earned decision and a big upset. This loss set back Joyce a long way.
The Juggernaut Returns
Following the loss after a few months Joyce started teasing a fight on his social media. There was some speculation on who it might be besides the fact it would be someone relatively beatable. Some suspected a potential fight against Dillian Whyte who recently won against Ebenezah Tetteh or Frazer Clarke who’d recently been destroyed by Fabio Wardley.
It was neither of those when we got our answer in a Queensberry Press Conference. The conference was the announcement of Ryan Garner vs Salvador Jiminez and its undercard. The fight will take place on March 1st in Bournemouth International Centre and Joe Joyce is on the undercard. Joyce’s opponent rather frustratingly is yet to be determined. However, this does suggest it’s not a particularly big name given if it was bigger it likely would have been revealed.
Most likely Joyce’s opponent will be a journeyman or someone with a solid resume but beatable. Someone to get Joyce back in the win column and make him look impressive. This fight is a must-win for Joyce if he wants to remain a factor at heavyweight he’s almost 40 now and is past his best. It’s now or never for Joyce who looks to try and re-enter into the top of the division.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
