NEW HEAVYWEIGHT
Joyce goes in with Lewison in audacious debut, writes
Olympic super-heavyweight silver medallist Joe Joyce goes pro
‘I’M GOING TO LAY JOYCE OUT BEFORE HE GETS MOVING’
AT THE initial press conference to announce who
Joe Joyce would be facing on his professional debut, the selected opponent, Ian Lewison, revealed he had felt insulted when the offer was put to him. It was easy to understand why.
The Brixton man was already a seriously talented amateur nine years ago when Joyce first walked into the Earlsfield Amateur Boxing Club. And, around the time Lewison was making his professional debut, Joyce was learning how to be a cheerleader during an exchange to Sacramento State University.
But their unlikely collision course, which reaches its conclusion on Friday, really began when Joyce returned from America and began to take his boxing at Earlsfield, near his Putney home, more seriously.
A superb amateur career culminated in a super-heavyweight silver at the Rio Olympics last year following a final against Tony Yoka which many people thought the Londoner won.
Joyce has not boxed since then, having taken his time to decide with which promoter to turn professional.
The former cheerleader with the fine arts degree has never been one to take the obvious route and he shunned the more established firms to sign up with David Haye’s burgeoning Hayemaker Ringstar stable. Friday night is their first show and Joyce has been given top billing at the Indigo at the 02, live on Dave.
Lewison, meanwhile, is a 12-3-1 former Southern Area champion and one-time British title challenger. He has every right to feel aggrieved that Haye and Joyce reckon he’d be the perfect debut fodder. Not only is the decision to select a man with eight stoppages on his record a curious one for a debutant, but the fight will be contested over 10 rounds too.
But then again, Joyce is not your average firsttimer. Not only is he 32 years old but he is already the veteran of 15 fivethrees in the World Series of Boxing. It’s safe to say he is well beyond fourrounders. He has also been preparing under Ismael Salas, the new trainer of the Hayemaker himself, and the man who transformed Felix Savon from an absolute beginner to one of the greatest amateur
boxers in history.
Joyce, too, is noted for his incredible engine and has been nicknamed “The Juggernaut” by his new promotional company. Richard Schaefer, who is involved, labelled him the ‘heavyweight Manny Pacquiao’ and while that comparison seems bizarre it does nod to the Londoner’s high output.
But Joyce is less of a whirlwind and more of a thunderstorm who can overwhelm his opponents with strength and pressure. Haye himself says his new charge is akin to a moving wall when it comes to sparring.
As well as time spent in Vauxhall at the Hayemaker gym, Joyce has also spent a large chunk of his preparation in Las Vegas where he has been sparring former WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne, which appears to be a very shrewd move.
The perceived wisdom, then, is that heavy-handed Lewison, trained by Don Charles, represents a serious threat early on, especially if Joyce carries any nerves into his professional debut. But if superfit Joyce is able to weather the early storm, he should take over to bludgeon his way to a decision if not a late stoppage.
Despite his experience, Lewison is not a man well versed in the long game. He went six rounds on his debut back in 2009 but has only ever been that far once since, when he retired in the 10th round against Dillian Whyte 12 months ago.
“To be fair when I first got the offer I thought ‘is he really going to choose me for his first fight?’ I took it as an insult,” said the man known as “Lay ‘Em Out” Lewison. “I want to give him a beating for that alone.
“They refer to him as the Juggernaut but anyone who reads comics knows that it’s only once the Juggernaut starts moving that he can’t be stopped. Fact is, he’s not going to get into his rhythm to start moving. I’m going to lay him out before that happens.”
Alongside Joyce, there are two other intriguing debuts taking place on what is a stacked card at the 02’s secondary venue, which has only been used for public weigh-ins and workouts so far.
First, Michael “Venom” Page makes his boxing bow after emerging as a star of British mixed martial arts with the Bellator promotional company. Page became something of a crossover star when a video of him dismantling another man’s forehead with a flying knee went viral.
It is going to be interesting to see how he gets on when he is only allowed to use his fists but the suggestions are that the light-heavyweight has the tools needed to go far. He is rumoured to have given James Degale as good as he got in sparring while one well-known London trainer has refused to let his boxers share the ring with Page due to his unorthodox and dangerous style.
There is also a debut for highly rated Scot Willy Hutchinson, who won gold at the world youth amateur championships in Russia last year. Schaefer, never shy of hyperbole, said the young middleweight is one of the most exciting prospects he has ever seen. And Hutchinson, for his part, is not short of confidence either. “I’m the greatest amateur Scotland has ever produced,” he said.
“I’m young, I’m hungry, I’m exciting and I’m ready to get started in the pro ranks now. I want to be the best Scottish fighter ever.” His rival, Attila Tibor Nagy, will do well to last the four-round distance.
THE VERDICT Incredibly bold debut for Joe Joyce.