He got beat by a jab in his first real test. He may win a belt or one of the WBC’s made up trinkets but a king? No.
Really depends on how he grows and develops from this as a fighter. One thing that always bothered me is that I haven't really seen any improvement in how he fights since turning pro, he's basically the same fighter, just a bit older, a bit bigger and a bit more composed, but his skill set hasn't evolved. That's what I tend to look for in a prospect are they learning and getting better because nobody starts off as a world champion level fighter. If he can learn to move his head or adopt a high guard, learn to counter punch, learn to throw a right hand lead, develop a style that isn't simply him jabbing his opponent to the ropes then unloading with power shots then maybe he can one day be a champion. He has the physical tools but that isn't enough, he needs the skills to harness that physical aptitude for boxing to make him effective.
he has no movement or footwork at all plus his punch variety is limited and mostly telegraphed. Having said this, he is only 23, basically a baby in HW terms so he could mature and develop into a great fighter, he is still a long way from that.
Modern convention certainly dictates that he should have spent far longer in the amateurs, though potentially the non event of Tokyo 2020, where he'd have had a fair chance of SHW gold, may have made his decision the right one. And it's kind of a dislike of mine the way a loss causes such a black mark against your name in boxing in the way it doesn't with other sports. Why shouldn't a young, inexperienced, guy in this sport test himself against someone decent, get schooled, but come back stronger? you see it all the time in other sports. I'm mostly, probably entirely, repeating what others have said but in brief I was: 1) (modestly) pleasantlyb surprised by the way he didn't obviously gas too badly; 2) slightly underwhelmed by his power, which didn't seem to badly trouble Joyce; and 3) desperately unimpressed by his defence, he badly needs a way to avoid taking so many head shots, it's totally unviable at elite level.
No. But he's a future contender if he doesn't go back to fighting push overs. He's passed that stage now.
Very early in the fight he looked in shock that someone else was allowed to punch back, and was gassing after 3-4 of rounds. He couldn't deal with a persistent but pretty basic and slow jab. He seems to swell easily. He's only 23 but already has a broken orbital bone. His power didn't step up with him as he stepped up in class of opponent. He doesn't seem to be able to adapt a game plan in a fight, when it's clearly not working. And whatever the justification, he took a loss on a knee. That's a very long way from 'King'...
I'd like to see him vs Wardely or Babic but it will be back to the bum carousel. Build the lads confidence with a few euro bums.
It depends on himself. I saw a lot of things that I liked yesterday. I saw a lot of things that I didnt like yesterday. He is very young. If he learns how to keep the good things and to fix the bad things, he will be a future hw king. If not, he wont. I, on the other hand, it does not matter what I learn or not, I'll never be the hw king. He's a good material. Can we make a good thing with this material? it depends on him and the artisan working with him. But I think he has good conditions to be a very important name in HW. Still a lot to learn? sure!!! like everybody else, with the difference that he's 23 freaking years old, and has a lot of time ahead to learn and to work. He better does it, that's true too, because he needs it.
He quit in the most obvious and clear way possible last night. It's difficult to tell because he'll handily destroy all the journeymen as part of the rebuilding process but until he has his next competitive fight we will never know if he has the heart
He has much to learn & improve on. Easier said than done. Some people never improve...some improve exponentially. Experience goes a long way. Knocking out Dave from the gym & Jim the dustbin man will only help you so much. It was a good fight for him but probably a touch too early and it gave him damage he can recover from but you can't keep getting damaged like that every other fight. Great news for Dubious is - What is every tall guy going to try and do when they fight him? Try to recreate Joyce's jab success. So you already know part of their gameplans. At some point, things start to click and the subtleties which make a world of difference should be coming into play for him. Needs to get back on that horse and be fighting 4 times a year.
