Joe Joyce stands today as one of heavyweight boxing’s top contenders and deservedly so.
Juggernaut has earned a reputation for being a tireless fighter with an unbelievable engine and an even greater chin.
Joyce’s durability was put to the test once again Saturday NightAs he faced Joseph Parker, a former world champion.
The Brit walked through the New Zealander’s biggest punches, barely blinking as he fired back every time he was hit.
Joyce defeated Parker in round 11, to win the world title shot.
He isn’t the first to show his toughness. In fact, he stopped Daniel Dubois, a highly rated power punching prospect after taking his best shots without ever being hurt.
This has of course raised the question – what would it take to actually hurt Joyce?
As a fully fledged heavyweight in his prime, it’s possible that not even Deontay wilderHe could be hurt.
Joyce was an amateur during his younger years.
BoxRec amateur records are often incomplete due to the nature of boxing at that level. However, they do have three listings for Joyce who suffered stoppage defeats.
Joyce was stunned by the surprise of Hamza Beguerni in 2013, when he was not well-known in Algeria.
There is no video of this bout, but it’s reported that Beguerni came flying out at the first bell and landed big shots which forced two standing eight counts for Joyce.
The contest was ended by a huge right hook.
In Joyce’s amateur stoppage defeats, this appears to be a familiar pattern.
Earlier in 2013, he was knocked out by Russia’s Sergey Kuzmin in just 34 seconds.
Video footage from this bout is available and shows Joyce being overwhelmed at the opening bell.
Kuzmin unleashed a flurry punches that saw the Brit get a standing count.
The referee stopped the contest and allowed him to resume. However, he was soon floored by a massive right hand.
Before this, Joyce had lost by stoppage only once before to Anthony Joshua in 2011.
“I had to fight twice [in one day],” Joyce recalled to Boxing Block CentreHe described the fight.
“I had to fight this guy Dominic, and he turned southpaw for some reason.
“Joshua already watched me fight this other guy, he was just chilling and waiting.
“When I was fighting the southpaw, you have to put your foot on the outside of their front foot, so I was going round to the left.
“And then when I fought Joshua, I was still going round to the left, so I was walking into his right hand.
“So I got hit with a shot and all the crowd goes, ‘Woaaaaah.’ And the ref jumped in, ‘One, two, three.’
“I was fine, but it happened three times and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’
“The ref was like, ‘That’s it,’ because I got three counts in the first round and you can only have three counts.
“So I lost the fight. I was like, ‘What happened?’”
These amateur defeats in 2011 and 2013 will not be significant in 2022.
While it’s interesting to look back to a time when Joyce could be stopped, it also shows just how far the Juggernaut has come.
Only the Elite heavyweightJoyce has a chance against you and the opportunity to win the 2023 world title will be yours.
