Joseph Obey Joyce vs. Armand Carlos Netsing Takam & Chris Jenkins vs. Ekow Essuman RBR.

Why did Takam walk out to John Cena's entrance music?

 

...AND WTF IS THAT HELMET

 

(like, I understand the reference to his ring name, was a huge comics nerd in my single digit and teen years, full aware of who Cain Marko is, just...why? What was Joe Joyce hoping to accomlish exactly? Is he having a laugh, as the Brits say? Did he think Takam would be...scared?)

 

Joe rocking a new look, eh? Bout time...unfortunately he chose the look of a bloke what comes around the council estate twice a week to sell drugs. Round backdoor, naturally, lest the P.C. have a butcher's hook.

 

R1: damn close, for me JJ might've thrown just enough to countermand the superior quality from Takam, who spend the first two minutes and change only grazing with the overhand right, chucked up tentatively, wary of Joyce's power, and some light body jabs, fewer in number and less clean than Joyce's own jabs on his face. The play by play commentator goes as far as to say that Joyce has "dominated" the round with his lead left stick, which is I think overstating it, definitely didn't dominate. And then, Carlos closes strong - I can see why people go Takam on this one. In the last 15 seconds he does land four of those overhand rights, three flush and one partly caught on Joyce's glove. That's a strong lasting impression - but that isn't how judges (or fans, for that matter) ought to be scoring, swayed by just a minority of the action that lingers twinkling in their mind's eye. 10-9 for Joyce, close

 

R2: wow, the well-traveled Cameroonian-Frenchman is looking rather quick and slick for his age, defensively. Then again, looking quick and slick against Joyce isn't much of a challenge unless you happen to be the also painfully slow Dubois. On the offensive side as well Takam doing great work, adding body combos to his line drive right and scoring that punch more frequently and with more confidence. Joyce catches him with a few heavy right-handed blows reaching down, but they're just falls of the guillotine blade, letting gravity do most of the work for him and not aiming properly. Takam able to clasp his palms over his skull, so that any piece of his head that Joyce touches past the back of Takam's gloves is illegal, rabbit punch territory and not a valid scoring area.

10-9 Takam

19-19

 

R3: Takam's workrate walked back a bit, and it's hurting him - figuratively and literally - as he's giving Joyce time & space to initiate. Joe not wasting the opportunity, stringing together shos in bunches - predictable ones, just a chopping right and left hook into the side of the head, but just clubbing away relentlessly with them - with as much alacrity as nature affords him. Takam buzzed a couple of times including at the bell, and got some licks in throughout this round but mostly grazing backfoot stuff and not on par with the quality of his work in the 1st or especially 2nd.

10-9 Joyce

29-28 Joyce

 

R4: Takam out like a house afire, driving the bigger man back through sheer force of will and pugnaciousness. Lead runway rights up top and left hooks on the hip from Takam. Full two minutes of control by Takam. Joyce then clubs down upon his dome once and Takam is hurt, but only momentarily, rallying back with more high rights, softening up Joyce's left cheekbone.

10-9 Takam, close

38-38

 

Ben whatsisface the British commentator has the same score as me but by a different route; giving Takam the 1st & 2nd and Joyce the last two.

 

R5: smart from Joyce, going into a Colossus version of the Philly shell, staying tall and leaning back so that Takam would need to expend energy to land on him. Joyce jabbing into the face of Takam from afar, picking him off. Takam with good body shots here and there when he dares bend in, head lowered, but he doesn't want to remain too long in the danger zone and get KTFO by a rabbit punch. Takam stuffs an up-jab into the open mouth of Joyce, catching him in a moment of undisciplined breathing. Another attempt to "SRL" (steal the round) by Takam late, but, meh.

10-9 Joyce, close

48-47 Joyce

 

Brutal finish, scores were academic. Can't believe people had an issue with the stoppage there? Granted the ref had opportunities earlier in the round to stop it at moments that would have made a little more sense and 'looked' better ...still, lots of flush hooks from a massive puncher rattling Takam's brains around. Too much beyond that would've been no good.

 

Agreed.

 

I assume he lost a bet with a mate, lol.