Heavyweight Joe Joyce may have had only 15 fights as a pro but has been matched well from day one
1 Joseph Parker
Arguably the finest knockout of Joyce’s career, the left hook Joyce used to end Parker’s challenge in 2022 was a thing of beauty. It was also the thing that caused Parker, so durable and game, to find himself stopped for the first time in his pro career.
2 Daniel Dubois
Billed as a great battle of unbeaten British heavyweights, Joyce ultimately made light of the pre-fight hype by having his way with Dubois from the off when the pair boxed behind closed doors in 2020. Come round 10, in fact, Dubois, with his eye socket fractured, had stayed down following a stiff jab to the face.
3 Carlos Takam
On his day a very solid contender, even now in his forties, Takam gave as good as he got with Joyce in 2021 only to find himself overwhelmed in the sixth round. Stopped on his feet, Takam didn’t like it one bit.
4 Bryant Jennings
This fight in 2019 marks the only time Joyce has ever heard the final bell as a pro and, moreover, Jennings managed to take him the full 12 rounds. He won few of those rounds, of course, but his performance was impressive nonetheless.
5 Bermane Stiverne
Stiverne, a former WBC champion who once took Deontay Wilder the distance, was a shadow of his former self by the time he met Joyce in 2019, but halting him in six rounds still represented a fine result for the nonstop Londoner.
6 Christian Hammer
Rugged and typically durable, Hammer wasn’t without moments of success against Joyce in 2020, though could do nothing to stop Joe once he found his range and groove in round four. It was all over shortly after that.
8 Aleksandr Ustinov
Standing at 6’7, Ustinov was one of the few Joyce opponents able to match him physically, but, unfortunately for him, he had nothing besides that when the pair clashed in 2019. He was stopped in three rounds.
7 Joe Hanks
Known as “The Future,” Hanks talked a good fight and appeared ready for the job physically, yet could still not deter “The Juggernaut” in Los Angeles back in 2018. Stopped in the very first round, Hanks never fought again.
9 Lenroy Thomas
Best known for upsetting another British heavyweight, Dave Allen, Thomas met Joyce in 2018 for the Commonwealth heavyweight title and found himself stopped inside just two rounds.
10 Ian Lewison
While rare to see a pro debutant compete in a 10-rounder, it is even rarer to see a pro debutant, as Joyce was back in 2017, take on someone who in their previous fight boxed for the British title. Still, despite the risk, Joyce stopped Lewison in eight rounds.
