Welcome to the big time, Joe. With the bone-chilling victory over Joseph Parker in Manchester, Joe Joyce gained the attention of the heavyweight elite, including the ultimate sanction, praise from Tyson Fury.
The Morecambe massive would have Joyce among the top-five heavyweights in the world, good enough to see off Anthony Joshua and “the middleweight”, his suitably dismissive description of the comparatively small yet comprehensively decorated triple belt holder Oleksandr Usyk.
Deontay Wilder’s speed and power might trouble him and, of course, Fury himself. “He couldn’t lace my boots up, but no-one can so there is no shame in that. I was impressed,” Fury said, taking a moment to appraise the heavyweight picture before returning to his real agenda.
“Monday, Frank,” he bellowed, addressing his promoter Frank Warren outside Joyce’s changing room. “Make sure this dosser [Joshua] signs the contract. Because if he don’t it’s not going to Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday or the week after. Deadline time baby. They either sign it, dossers, or they don’t. I’ve given a little ticket to each of them to come to the party. If they don’t want to attend the Gypsy King rolls on.”
As do the eyes of all in boxing. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn had this to say: “We have a meeting on Monday, with DAZN, with BT, with everybody, but it’s going to take time. If he wants to put a timeframe of Monday on it then it’s clear to the whole public he doesn’t want the fight. It’s not getting signed on Monday so if he is walking away on Monday the fight is off.”
Into this complex of egos, broadcast power struggles and legalese, strides Joyce, an oak of a human being with the scale and power to give a rhino pause. His 11th round dispatch of Parker, a former WBO champion who had never been stopped in 32 prior engagements, losing only to Joshua and Dillian Whyte, was a demonstration of a preternatural capacity to endure.
Parker harnessed every ounce of energy and power that his 6ft 4 ins, 18st frame would permit, repeatedly catching Joyce clean with vicious hooks and looping rights. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Joyce, two inches taller and a stone heavier, kept rolling forward, suffocating Parker to the point of exhaustion and ultimately defeat. The final blow, a lights-out left a minute into the penultimate round, took Parker’s legs away, his folding body answering to the merciless summons of gravity.
Levels, said Parker’s estimable trainer Andy Lee beforehand, assuming the superiority to which he alluded was manifest in his man. Lee learned to box at the Kronk Gym in Detroit, graduating under Manny Steward, who guided the careers of Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Wladimir Klitschko among others. Steward taught Lee how to think as well as punch. Lee has developed into a cerebral trainer who likes to surprise. His plan for Parker was sound enough, but ultimately unravelled according to Mike Tyson’s ring wisdom, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”.
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The assumption that Parker’s artillery delivered at pace would bring Joyce to his knees was sound enough but underestimated the indefatigable nature of the enemy. No heavyweight gave greater expression to a moniker than the Juggernaut, a big unit with a big engine and a granite chin. At some point speed and power will chop him down, but as Parker discovered, bringing that to bear over 12 three-minute rounds is a demand so far beyond human capacity.
“Every time I hit him he kept coming back. He’s very tough. Helluva fighter,” said Parker, who proved himself a champion with the heart he showed and the grace with which he accepted his fate. “There are no excuses. I did everything right in camp. I was in great shape. Just got beaten by the better man.”
Lee resisted the invitation to deconstruct the night. He knew his fighter could not have done more. “When you are taking big punches plans go out the window. It’s hard to control yourself, emotions,” Lee said. “Both should be applauded for taking the fight. They went at it. This man is a warrior. His heart is bigger than this whole arena. You can teach the other stuff, you can’t teach that. We had a great plan and Joe fought a great fight. It just didn’t go our way. Joyce was able to nullify what we did with his size and persistence. He takes a great punch. Just got a give the other guy credit.”
The win cemented Joyce as the mandatory challenger for Usyk’s WBO belt. “Let’s get it on,” he screamed in the immediacy of victory. Warren promised he would “move heaven and earth to make it happen”. It might take more than that, Frank. As fighters like to put it, Joyce earned membership of the “who needs him” club with the remorseless culling of Parker. He’s a hard night’s work for any, even immortals like Usyk.
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