Understanding Joe Joyce

Joyce was much more defensively responsible when he fought an athletic, dangerous puncher (Dubois) than he has been against washed up journeymen (Takam, Stiverne, Hammer).

Potential reasons why Joyce deliberately takes so many unnecessary headshots:

1. Taking flush haymakers on the chin without effect can demoralise and fatigue his opponent

2. Being defensively open encourages his 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. Fighting recklessly against journeymen makes what are on paper totally uncompetitive fights a lot more exciting (bigger fanbase, more viewers, more revenue)

4. It 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 is a legit 6'5 with an 80 inch reach, 265 lbs without being pumped up, is confident, determined, relentless, open-minded, has killer instinct, seems mentally unflappable, has decent footspeed and movement, underrated agility, a very good jab, a consistent body attack, is 36/37 years old and experienced but hungry, very strong, has a terrific engine, is heavy handed, unorthodox, easy to underestimate, iron chinned, has never been knocked down as a pro, is 14-0 with 13 KO's (4 in the 1st round) and was a star amateur.

Joyce beat Hrgovic in Britain, Yoka, Jalolov, Dychko, Majidov and Pero in Cuba 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 durability + power + engine + size is more suited to professional boxing) and he has two good pro wins: 15-0 big punching come forward destroyer wide favourite Dubois by NOMAS10 and a close 12 round decision win against experienced long-armed mover Jennings in Britain 16 months prior to that. Joyce recently gave Usyk world title challenger and Bakole-conqueror Hunter a very hard time in sparring, apparently making him quit in 5.

Fighters must play to their strengths and can’t always be judged by the same 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 very effective.

 

Lists some fighters with "a pulse". It's meaningless rubbish. All of those reasons are plausible considering he's proven he can box much more safely when he wants to.

 

"I don't understand why people criticize Joe Joyce for taking so many shots"

Part of it is the belief that the accumulation of damage will soften Joyce's chin, which has to be true at some point. They also may know he was hurt and stopped in the 1st round on three occasions in the amateurs, which leads them to question how "iron" Joyce's chin really is. But Joyce is more physically mature, heavier and experienced now and amateur stoppages tend not to be as definitive as pro stoppages.

Many don't understand that you can't apply the same rules for all fighters. Part of Joyce's strategy involves absorbing a lot of leather. It also doesn't matter how many rounds you lose if you are consistently able to grind the opponent down late. There is the idea that someone will be able to outpoint Joyce and ride out the storm, which is probably true at the very top but imo probably won't apply when Joyce fights guys outside the top 5, almost certainly not outside the top 10.

 

"A pulse" is meaningless, they all have pulses. You haven't listed fighters with "a pulse" though so I can only assume that you're an idiot and a waste of time.