Joe Joyce vs Rocky Marciano

Rocky marciano almost defintly wins this, Joyce has a impressive amatuer record, but lets not get carried away he only has 3 pro fights, i think he's a little green to beat rocky, Joyce is too new and will need experience, maybe in a few more years when he gets more fights under his belt ask again and I might go with joyce.

 

Joyce would get destroyed and torn to pieces.

He would try to corner Rocky with his guard up, using his arms to pick off shots and land big punches.
But his defense and boxing IQ are nowhere near good enough to stop Rockys hack-em slash-em home run flurries.

Joyce is 32
His size and strength are impressive. And his athleticism isimpressive for a big man too.
But his mechanics are off. He doesn't have the poise, grace, or IQ of Lewis or Klitschko. Which means he can't put it all together smoothly and quickly enough for the level of fighter that Rocky is.

Marciano would control the ring using his footwork to stay away from the ropes, and his power to keep Joyce from getting a big attack going.

Joyce will easily be caught off position due to the disparity in boxing mechanics between the two, and once that happens the outcome is inevitable.

Joyce would have no clue as Rocky starts going to work on him with huge power punches from all angles while he's side stepping, moving his head, and controlling momentum with his work rate, timing and stamina.

Joyce may have a great amateur pedigree. Maybe too great (he stuck around collecting medals for a while).
But based on what I see, he needs either a sizeable transformation to his boxing game, or he needs to prove that he possesses some special intangibles to take him to the championship level. Until then, he has no chance in this fight for me. I don't see him going past 5.

 

Who's the best CW sized fighter today?

Usyk, Gassiev and Lebedev.

Would we favour Joyce over those 3 right now just because he's bigger?

I'd assume we'd also allow those 3 to come in a bit heavier rather than force them to give up 50 pounds.

If they came in at 215 say, would Joyce then be a favourite at all?

I don't think he would.

Wilder can make the CW limit as well, should we favour Joyce over him?

If Joyce continues his trajectory there's a reasonable chance he would eventually be favoured over Rocky and most CW sized fighters but right now today I would probably favour Rocky to do the job providing he's allowed a bit of extra bulk.

After all he beat Shkor so we know he can beat a SHW, the only question is how good a SHW can he beat.

 

Great post.

Another point is, without “modern training” Joyce might have been another in a very long line of those tall guys with thin arms and a long necks that never could make it in boxing years ago.

At 240 these guys can add functional weight today and be relevant in a sport that otherwise might not have suited a bean pole.

 

I don't consider Joyce a pulverising puncher or even a particularly devastating one. He has a good engine that's about it,I don't expect him to make many waves ,he is 32 now and time is against him.
Marciano knocks him out imo.

 

Yes ,his last opponent who needed a bra!

 

Lol I am not debating anything to ******ed Marciano fans like you. So let me just block you to show yow how little I care about people like you.

 

Can we at least wait until a modern fighter achieves a world championship belt before placing him in a fantasy fight with a hall of fame person?

 

When matching two fighters, things like power, strength, speed, amateur career, height, and weight mean more than "Hall of Fame" and "belts." I've never seen Joyce fight, but anybody with his amateur pedigree who is 6-6, 250 pounds (listed by somebody in a previous post) is a threat to any heavyweight boxer.

 

About those 250 pounders..They generally fail drug tests.

Ortiz, povetkin, Pulev, Tyson Fury, Dillion Whyte, Tony Thompson, Lucas Browne...


Tall guys with thin arms and long necks never used to make it in boxing. But at 260lb they become relevant today.

 

Glad you're picking the real battles to fight here!

 

Just as an aside, for what it's worth, Usyk, Gassiev, Lebedev, and especially Wilder are all significantly bigger men than Marciano, especially if you let the cruiserweights come in at 215.

*With the possible exception of Lebedev