What can I say about Joe Joyce?
Joe Joyce is a UK heavyweight professional fighter that languished a 15w-0L and 14KO record when he stepped into the ring against Zhilei Zhang who boasted a 24W-1L with 19KO’s, so it was anticipated to be a short-lived fight.
Up to this point, I had never seen a live fight of Joe’s and I had never heard of Zhang, but I was happy to have some potentially explosive heavyweight action on a Saturday afternoon; I live in the Midwest United States, and the fight was in the UK, so the fight card started about 2pm my time.
My ideology of Joyce before the fight was that he was what his nickname implied, Juggernaut, and the highlights I’ve watched has corroborated the same sentiment. After watching the fight, which ended maybe 30 minutes ago, I realize that Joe isn’t really a heavyweight prospect, he’s more of a heavyweight sideshow.
By sideshow, I mean that his style of fighting has no longevity in the game, but it will entertain for now. It will entertain the blood hungry fans that enjoy rock-em sock-em robot style fights that almost always end in brutal knock outs. This fight didn’t end in that manner, but close enough!
Joe Joyce came into the fight slow and robotic like; he threw his punches with minimal head movement; I mean if he moved his head less, he would have to move his head in the opposite direction he should move his head (Counterclockwise)!! Does that make sense?
Zhang used a little combination throwing, a little defense, and a little determination to close Joe’s right eye by landing, which forced the referee/doctor to end the fight in the 6th round. Some are saying it was an early stoppage, because he was able to see a little, but the fight wasn’t going to change from what we seen to that point, so good call ref!
My opinion on Joe Joyce, off of the highlights I’ve watched, and the live fight I watched this afternoon, I don’t believe he will emerge as more than a fighter that will push other fighters on their way to the top.
I know, I know, too soon, right? NOPE, he obviously has been fighting in this manner since he entered the sport, and I don’t know any thought process that his handlers could’ve had, that made them think that he would be able to endure top heavyweight fighters that, well, MOVE!
Right now, he’s a party trick that can demolish the right fighter, and boxing can indeed be a great hobby for him, but in my opinion, unless he learns to defend, and to learn to move his head, this will turn into a lackluster career and will lead to years of health problems deriving directly from head trauma.
I was hoping to be wowed and exciting about another heavyweight prospect to add to the mix, but I didn’t find it in this fight. No disrespect to Zhang, but he fought a mummy that was prepared to be hit, so I have no idea how good he is!
Congrats to Zhang for the win and I hope Joyce has no lasting injuries and a speedy recovery. If I had a chance to give both men advice, I would say this:
To Zhang: Celebrate this win for today, maybe the weekend, then get back to work!
To Joyce: Fire your team, or at least be vocal about what you need and act accordingly!!!
