Boxer painting a picture of victory
IN AN extraordinary journey from one canvas to another, a boxer with a degree in fine arts puts the finishing touches to Team GB’s Olympic masterpiece.
Joe Joyce, an accomplished painter and Middlesex University graduate, is guaranteed at least a silver in the super-heavyweight division. The 6ft 6in, 17st Londoner, 30, takes on France’s Tony Yoka in the final bout, which will mark Britain’s last medal of its glorious effort at Rio 2016.
Only gold will do for Joyce, who is looking to emulate his former sparring partner, Anthony Joshua, the world heavyweight champion who claimed amateur boxing’s greatest prize at London 2012. Outside the ring, however, art is Joyce’s first love.
He inherited the hobby from his parents, father Philip, a Scots-born Irishman, and his mother Marvel, whose ancestry is Nigerian.
“Dad painted and mum was good at pottery,” Joyce said. “They both loved art and I really got into it at school where I had good teachers who encouraged me to do an Arts Foundation degree.” Joyce has a bitter rivalry with his opponent. He added: “It would be good to beat Yoka again.”