Why is Joe Joyce getting rated so highly?

No reason. I would like to see him get one more good win.

 

Yep, just more hype and promotion.
I love it how people think he takes on tough challenges.
He's literally middle-age now and has avoided the top fighters his whole career to protect his 'brand'.
Parker was the first actual seasoned top HW fighter he fought and even that was after Parker had declined.
It's just mindblowing people think he's been out there taking on the best or trying to.

Joyce may well be the first fighter in history to actually age himself out of the game by dodging top names for so many years.

 

Whenever I try to pick a winner in a proposed matchup, I never take a boxer's supposed mental state into the equation. You'll never hear me say "Ali would get in Tyson's head and cause him to get frustrated" and things of that nature. I just picture the fighters at their respective best and let my mind go, no one is awed by Muhammad's personality or scared of Mike in my fantasy fights.

If Joshua has continued improving (many say he has only gotten better since the first Ruiz encounter), then he should beat Joyce & Wilder.

 

Interesting thoughts. I would agree about AJ's destructive style having a great chance to blast Joyce out. But I'm not sure the change in style Joshua's improvement is taking him is a great fit vs Joyce though. If he tries to jab and stay disciplined against Joyce, he might simply gas first and be a sitting duck.

 

True that could happen. If Joshua has improved in the boxing IQ department and has learned from being in twice with the best HW boxer in the world, he should do well I think. 24 rounds with Usyk had to teach him something!

**Warning Rose Colored Nostalgia Glasses On**

Yet another reason why the old ATGs were so much better than the fighters today. They used to learn and make adjustments within one fight that takes guys YEARS to equal, nowadays.

Oh well, Wilder had to learn the left hook sometime, I guess.

 

Understanding Joe Joyce

Joyce is 6’5.5, has an 80 inch reach, is 271 lbs while not being pumped up, is confident, determined, relentless, has killer instinct, seems mentally unflappable, has decent footspeed and movement, underrated agility, a very good jab, a consistent body attack, has never looked better at 37 and is experienced (15 years boxing) but still hungry, very strong, has a terrific engine, is heavy handed, iron chinned (never knocked down as a pro, only ever seemingly hurt once as a pro and it was to the body), 15-0 with 14 KO’s (4 in the 1st round) and was a star amateur.

Joyce beat Hrgovic, Yoka, Jalolov, Dychko, Majidov and Pero in the amateurs on the way to being robbed of Olympic gold in Brazil (and his success in the amateurs is all the more impressive because his size + durability + power + engine is more suited to pro boxing). He has three good pro wins: heavy, durable, experienced former titlist Parker by KO11, young, undefeated, aggressive, big punching, A-side favourite prospect Dubois by NOMAS10 and a competitive UD12 win against experienced long-armed mover Jennings. Joyce is thus far the only man to stop Parker and Dubois and he stopped tough gatekeeper Takam faster than anyone else has (Povetkin, Joshua, Chisora) in 48 fights.

Joyce’s strategy:

1. Going forward relentlessly and taking punches on the chin without effect can demoralise and fatigue the opponent

2. Being defensively open encourages the opponent to throw more punches at him, creating opportunities to land his own shots while depleting the stamina of the opponent and increasing the likelihood of the opponent injuring himself

3. Joyce’s high output increases damage dealt and forces the opponent to move around more and/or throw more punches than they would like to, which fatigues them, leaves them defensively open and increases the likelihood of them sustaining injury

4. Fighting recklessly against journeymen makes what are on paper totally uncompetitive fights a lot more exciting (bigger fanbase, more viewers, increased revenue)

5. Losing rounds and absorbing a lot of punches against lesser opponents can lull rivals into a false sense of security (“he’s so easy to hit and his chin could be cracked any day now”), increasing Joyce’s chances of getting big fights

Joyce was much more defensively responsible when he fought an aggressive puncher (Dubois) than he has been against faded gatekeepers.

Fighters must play to their strengths and can’t always be judged by the normal standards. Those with unorthodox styles and extreme attributes can break conventional rules (don't lose rounds, don't get hit clean too much etc.) and still be extremely effective.

 

Parker and Dubios are better than anyone Wilder has beat

 

Neither are as good or dangerous as 30-0 Ortiz was. Parker lost to Whyte and hasn't stopped any of his 11 best opponents (including Cojanu, Fa), while Dubois' best win by a country mile is Gorman (who Wardley recently destroyed in 3), with Dubois' last fight being a complete clown show against that lightly regarded cruiserweight Lerena.

It's also ironic because Joyce's old trainer said that Ortiz was too dangerous for a 2019 fight, even though Wilder had already KO'd him.

 

Because he is a durable fighter who knocks out his opponents. He was never rocked or stunned a bit, ever. Seems unstoppable.

 

Has the potential to dethrone Fury also

 

HMMM... He is British... So immediately has extra hype (Good and bad thing).... He beat the other great up and coming British prospect (Dubois).....

 

I consider Joe a bit overhyped, but the guy is humble, fights hard and knocks everybody. What people seem to miss is that he's slow and straight-line fighter, also got two knockouts as an amateur, so I'm not really sure if his chin is so hard.

 

Doing something no one had done to Parker.
Taking Dubois' '0' and dominantly.

 

I'd rate him about #5 of the current heavies. This era is mostly pudding with a hard crust on top.

 

Your as good as your last fight. AJ lost against the arguably the best in world so in some people eyes is trash and Joyce is unbeaten and beating good quality fighters. People just get carried away.

AJ V Joyce is a brilliant fight and one I hope we see.