IT’S no secret what Joe Joyce is going to do. He will march into you and let punches cascade down. Those hands might not be so quick, but they’re heavy and the engine powering them is unrelenting. Whether they hit your arms, your head or your body they’ll erode your defences, chip away at your resilience and resolve, unless you’re quick enough to get out the way and stay out the way. Or you hit hard enough to repel him. Otherwise you are in for a tough night.
That’s what America’s Bryant Jennings discovered on Saturday ( July 13) on the Daniel Dubois vs Nathan Gorman undercard at the O2 Arena in London. Jennings scored with a hefty body shot early only for Joyce to regroup to control the opening three rounds.
The visitor fought back. After blocking punches with his gloves, he sprang forward to clip Joe with his left hook. He brought up a swelling beneath the Londoner’s right eye but did not hurt him or persuade Joyce to back off. Despite those clear, crisp hits, Joyce assailed him continuously, ploughing forward to take rounds by sheer force of effort.