Joe Joyce’s knockout victory over Joseph Parker places him as a serious contender for the heavyweight title.
Throughout the week leading up to the heavyweight match between Joe Joyce (15-0) and Joseph Parker (30-3), fans and media alike were divided over who would win this fight for the provisional WBO title. Some thought that Joyce’s strength would be too much, while others felt that Parker’s movement, boxing skills and experience would be more than enough to beat Joyce.
When the bell rang to start the fight, you’d think 37-year-old Joyce was the younger fighter because he consistently hammered the left kick while cleverly cutting the ring almost instantly. Most of this is probably thanks to veteran Cuban coach Ismail Salas, who has been at Joyce’s corner for the past few months preparing him for the moment.
For those watching the fight on ESPN+, they may not have been a fan of Joyce because his hand speed feels like it’s in slow motion, and you don’t hear the pop when he calls. But as the fight continued, Parker was arguing with anyone who would say that Joyce’s punches were painful, and it exhausted him throughout the fight. Joyce had a good game plan, and this was to keep Parker guessing by varying his attack levels throughout the rounds. There have been some instances where Joyce would attack the body, and as soon as Parker’s arms came down, he would hit him with a hook curled right or left.
Joe Joyce is now the interim WBO champ with his eyes set on the full title next year.
All credit to Parker, who was using his feet and trying to make his way to the scorecards, but Joyce’s pressure was different from what he had fought against in the past, and that was the reason for the difference on this card. After wearing it, in the eleventh round, that was when Joyce landed a crushing left hook, knocking Parker down and putting an end to that hook.
Joyce won many fans Saturday night here in the States, with not many being too confident that he could win a big fight at the speed of his slow hand. While Parker isn’t among the top three contenders, he once held the heavyweight title, and his hit means something when it comes to credibility. Joyce now has the provisional WBO title, which means he will become a mandatory heavyweight title in the future, which looks like it will be next year.
The question now is, where does it go from here? Should Joyce fight while he waits for his title? According to the latest WBO rankings, some of the names could be the likes of Frank Sanchez, Andy Ruiz, Otto Wallen and Philip Harjovich, to name a few. All of those fights are very interesting but have the potential to run into political barriers, like Joyce with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. If I had to guess, it’s probably Wallen who takes the fight to Joyce. Wallen will be very competitive as he has given WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury everything he can handle in 2019.
Whatever Joyce decides to do, the best thing that can happen to his career at this point is what happened on Saturday night which was a devastating knockout for someone who had never been fired before. In boxing, especially in the heavyweight category, knockouts attract attention. With his video all over social media, Joyce will be a celebrity heavyweight in no time. The challenge is always to keep that energy going, so matchmaking will be important in his next battle as he waits for his chance at real gold. Will Joyce become the heavyweight champion in the future? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, he needs to move forward quickly because daddy time waits for no man.
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