Via Stefan Radosavljevic: Joe Joyce showed me that I still have a lot to learn about boxing. It was the summer of 2019. I got to watch this British heavyweight fight for the first time as a pro.
A unanimous decision win over Bryant Jennings didn’t impress me at all. His stab looks very slow, and without power, his defense has many flaws. Honestly, I didn’t even watch Joyce’s next game against Michael Wallisch. I know he’s the silver medalist from Rio, but I’ve never considered him a championship document.
To me, Joyce is just another heavyweight prospect with good amateur results and a brilliant PR team around him. And then there’s the fight between Daniel Dubois. Many boxing fans, myself included, think this is the end of Joyce. Daniel looks explosive and agile, having the height and reach of Joe. It was a technical knockout in the 10th round of Dubois that made me rethink my stance on Juggernaut.
The first thing you notice when you look at Joyce is, of course, his size: 6’6 with over 260 pounds and a reach of 81 inches. But his physical advantage is obvious; I will talk about them later. Now, I want to say something about his amateur career. This is the part of the Juggernaut story that is often overlooked and underestimated. Joe started boxing quite late, at the age of 22.
In 2012, he won the British amateur boxing championship. The following year at the European Championships in Minsk, he won a bronze medal. 2015. and 2016. Joyce was part of the World Series of boxing, a competition that allows amateur boxers to compete professionally while remaining amateur.
This was a very important experience for Joyce because at ABA he faced many talented fighters, including Oleksandr Usyk, the current world heavyweight champion. In the summer of 2016. Joyce won a silver medal at the 31st Olympic Games in Rio. Many observers believed that he defeated the French boxer Tony Yoka but was robbed of the gold medal.
The following year Joe turned pro. In a relatively short amateur career, he has steadily progressed, facing and, many times, beating the best amateurs of his time.
Now, like I said, let’s talk more about Juggernaut’s physical abilities. The size and power are there, but there’s also a great chin and perhaps the best stamina among the heavyweights, matched only by Usyk’s unstoppable engine.
What’s very interesting to me is that Joyce never tried to be a sleek, fast-moving boxer. He is himself, a Juggernaut, and he uses it to the fullest. The strength of both hands, the relentless attack, the height and the reach were put to great use in the final fights with Takam, Hammer and Parker.
Joyce is also very calm in the ring; I’ve never seen him panic or leave his game plan. Of course, he also has flaws. The biggest point is probably that he leans too much on his chin. Sometimes Joe doesn’t even move his head and gets hit in the face, flashed. His iron chin has saved him many times, but what if one day, Deontay Wilder landed? So when you combine strength with amateur experience, how far can Joyce go?
Judging by his last two bouts, he has the tools to beat most of the top ten heavyweights. If Joe keeps his form and tries to defend, he can beat Joshua, Wilder and Ruiz. All three fighters have physical problems, and it will be difficult to keep up with Joe, especially in the later rounds.
On the other side, two very dangerous boxers for Joyce are Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Joyce had never faced a pure boxer before, and I had no idea how Joe would react to Fury’s clumsy style or Usyk’s impeccable boxing fundamentals.
Unfortunately, none of these guys are rushing to fight Joe, so it’s going to be tough for his managers to get into a big fight. Whatever happens, I can’t wait to see Juggernaut rematch, and I thank him for the much-needed boxing lesson.
