Joe Joyce has heard talk of him being slow. He is unconcerned. Joyce has heard talk that he can be outboxed. He is equally unconcerned. Joyce, known as “The Juggernaut,” has been compared by some to the legendary George Foreman. Joyce agrees with and enjoys the comparison. In fact, ahead of his now officially announced clash with former WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker, the unbeaten 36 year old has likened himself to the “older George Foreman.”
As fans know, “Big George” had two careers – one in the 1970s, the others in the 1980s/1990s. It was Foreman mark-two that made history, this as the oldest heavyweight champion ever. Joyce says he fights in a similar manner to the slow but sure, the steady but unstoppable Foreman who ruled the world all over again in 1994 to 1995.
Joyce says his power will be far too much for Parker, and that Parker’s best shots will not dent his formidable chin.
“I think he will try his best to hit me and do whatever he has done in camp, but, at the end of the day, I’m gonna win by knockout. Little Joe is going to tickle me on September 24,” Joyce said. “I would say I am more like the older George Foreman, the second one who won the world title. I am close to that age now and I am still knocking you out.”
Foreman, in his second appearance, was calm and assured, while he was also comfortable in the knowledge that his chin would never let him down. It never did, and Foreman, like Joyce today, never even changed his expression when he was hit hard and flush. If Joyce has got as great a chin as Foreman had, and if he can also lower the boom late on in a fight the way Foreman did, he will absolutely take some beating; not just by Parker, but by any fighter. Great trainer Abel Sanchez also compared Joyce to Foreman, this when speaking about the British heavyweight some time back.
Foreman proved that patience, mental strength, and an ultra-reliable chin, combined with punching power and a little cunning, can overcome speed, aggression and youth. It’s now up to Joyce to do the same, starting with the Parker fight. Can Joyce get past Parker, and if so, can he then go on to win the world heavyweight title that Foreman won twice?
Can anyone stop “The Juggernaut?”