JoeJoyce MBE
"Juggernaut"
Former WBO interim Heavyweight World Champion, Olympic Silver Medallist
Joe Joyce MBE, also known as the Juggernaut is a British professional boxer with a record of 16 wins (15 by KO) and 3 losses. The former WBO interim heavyweight world champion and Olympic silver medallist currently fights under the guidance of the legendary Frank Warren and his team at Queensberry Promotions.
This is the fighter profile of Joe Joyce MBE, and over the next couple of sections, you will learn about the Juggernaut’s early life and background, transition to professional boxing, fighting style, and strengths. And in the end, we’ll go into more detail about his most notable fights and career achievements
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WINS
16
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LOSES
3
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DRAW
0
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kOs
15
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WEIGHT
281 lbs
(127 Kg) -
HEIGHT
6’6”
(198 cm) -
REACH
80”
(203 cm)
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Trainer
Ismael Salas
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Born
19 September 1985
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Born in
London, UK
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nation
British
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residence
London, UK
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KO Percentage
93.75%
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Stance
Orthodox
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Rounds
103
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Debut
20 October 2017
Early Life and Background
Joe Joyce MBE was born on September 19th, 1985 to Phillip Joyce, his Scottish-born Irish father, and Marvel Opara, his mother of Nigerian origin. During his early years and teens, Joyce was an ordinary boy from London without much, if any interest in boxing.
This was because boxing was never on the cards for him. From a young age, Joyce was primarily focused on becoming the best track and field athlete. However, due to injuries, he decided to pivot his focus and shortly after leaving track and field behind, he joined Earlsfield ABC - an amateur boxing club in Earlsfield, London.
It wasn’t until 2007 that Joyce first laced up a pair of boxing gloves. He was already 22 years old - significantly older than his opponents who had typically started training in their early teens or at an even younger age.
Two years later, Joyce obtained a BSc in Fine Arts at Middlesex University, graduating with an Upper Second Class Honours Degree.
After five years of training and fighting at his amateur boxing gym, at the age of 27, Joyce won the super heavyweight class at the 2012 ABA Championships and the 2012 GB Amateur Boxing Championships.
A year later, he would go on to win bronze in his class at the 2013 European Amateur Boxing Championships after suffering a KO by the defending champion in the semifinal, the Russian Sergei Kuzmin.
In 2014, the Juggernaut also competed in the men’s super heavyweight division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where he finished first and won his first gold medal. Less than a year later, he competed at the 2015 European Games in Baku and won the title.
After a successful performance at the 2015 and 2016 World Series of Boxing, in April 2016, he won another gold medal at the European Olympic trials, which qualified him for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
After an incredible performance at the Olympics, on the 21st of August 2016, Joyce won a silver medal in the super heavyweight class, having only lost his final bout via a controversial split decision to France’s Tony Yoka. Joyce’s silver medal was also the final medal won by Team GP at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Transition to Professional Boxing
After a successful decade-long boxing career as an amateur fighter, in 2017, at the age of 31, Joe Joyce transitioned to professional boxing. His first professional boxing fight was announced on the 6th of September 2017, which would take place just over a month later at the Indigo at The O2 Arena in London on the 20th of October 2017.
Joe Joyce headlined the card and made his debut against the former British title challenger Ian Lewison. After an impressive performance, in round number eight, Ian Lewison’s corner threw in the white towel and the referee Bob Williams ended the fight, declaring Joe Joyce the winner by TKO.
Following the bout, Joyce’s professional career gained immense momentum. His debut performance against a far more experienced fighter showcased not only his power and endurance but also his ability to adapt his amateur style and make it work against a professional boxer.
Critics and boxing fans alike were impressed by his relentless pressure and physical dominance in the ring - something that is rarely seen from a debutant fighting a pro boxer in the ranks of Ian Lewison.
After his debut fight in late 2017, the Juggernaut remained active, taking on increasingly challenging opponents in rapid succession. The following year, the Putney giant had six professional fights and won all 6 by KO, four of which were in the first round.
One of those six fights was against Lenroy Thomas for the Commonwealth Boxing Council Heavyweight title. After a dominant performance and taking Thomas down once in the first round, Joyce won via a second-round KO, securing his first professional title.
Joyce’s dominant transition from amateur boxing to the heavyweight division quickly established him as one of the most exciting prospects in professional boxing. And thanks to his talent, ability, and unmatched work ethic, the boxing world now gets to enjoy the rise of a true powerhouse in the heavyweight division.
Fighting Style & Techniques
His fighting style can be best described as relentless and methodical, characterised by constant forward pressure and a high work rate that his opponents often fail to keep up with. As an orthodox boxer, Joyce often leverages his towering height of 6’6” (198cm) and long 80” (203 cm) reach to dominate and overwhelm opponents with sheer volume and persistence.
One of the Juggernaut’s standout attributes is his powerful jab, which is both a weapon and a tool for setting up devastating combinations. Using his jab, the boxing world has seen Joyce control the pace of almost every fight that he has taken part in. It’s often the cornerstone of his strategy as it allows him to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm while creating openings for heavy punches.
Joyce also has the incredible ability to absorb punishment too. His strong chin is definitely another defining feature that helps him stay in fights against powerful punchers for longer, giving him the chance to land some of his own.
Notable Fights and Career Achievements
On the 28th of November 2020, Joyce went up against the undefeated prospect Daniel Dubois. After 10 rounds of boxing, a left jab to Dubois’ left eye would send him to his knee, winning Joyce the fight via KO and helping him secure the:
- BBBofC British Heavyweight title
- Commonwealth Boxing Council Heavyweight title
- EBU European Heavyweight title
- WBC Silver Heavyweight title
- WBO International Heavyweight title
Other notable titles and achievements that the Juggernaut has acquired throughout his amateur and professional careers include:
- WBO Interim World Heavyweight title
- Gold medal at the 2015 European Games in Baku
- Gold medals at the 2012 and 2014 English National Championships
- Gold medal at the 2011 London GB Championships
Career
Across his amateur and professional boxing careers, Joyce has taken part in many career-defining fights against some of the most challenging opponents at the time. The Juggernaut’s first most notable fight is from his amateur career, where he faced Tony Yoka of France during the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The Brit and the Frenchman went at each other for a total of three rounds, with Joyce putting on a performance that was worthy of the Olympic stage. In the end, the decision was left up to the three judges to determine the winner.
Controversially, the judges scored the fight 30-27, 29-28, and 28-29 in favour of Tony Yoka, awarding him the gold medal and forcing Joyce to settle for silver.
Once the Juggernaut turned to professional heavyweight boxing in 2017, over the years, he had a number of important fights that could alter the trajectory of his career. The first one of which was against the Jamaican boxer Lenroy Thomas who at the time was the Commonwealth heavyweight champion.
Despite being the challenger for the title, Joyce went into the ring with confidence, having beaten his last two professional heavyweight opponents via first-round knockout. And it showed.
Thomas went down once in the 1st round and twice in the 2nd. With less than 40 seconds left on the clock of round number two, Joyce delivered a powerful left hook that won him the fight via yet another KO. This time, Joyce would not only walk away with a victory but his very first title - the Commonwealth Boxing Council Heavyweight title.
Less than a year later, Joyce would defend his Commonwealth Boxing Council Heavyweight title for the first time against the challenger and former world titleholder Bermane Stiverne. After a dominant display of power and endurance, Joyce defeated Stiverne via a sixth-round stoppage.
After 11 dominant victories as a pro fighter, Joyce had made a name for himself and that opened the doors to what would be one of the biggest fights in his career not just then but up until this moment.
Fighting History
Loss
10 round ud
Derek Chisora
O2 Arena, London, UK
27 Jul 2024
win
10 round ko
Kash Ali
Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, UK
16 Mar 2024
Loss
3 round ko
Zhilei Zhang
Wembley Arena, London, UK
23 sep 2023
Loss
6 round tko
Zhilei Zhang
Copper Box Arena, London, UK
15 apr 2023
win
11 round ko
Joseph Parker
Manchester Arena, Manchester, UK
24 sep 2022
win
4 round tko
Christian Hammer
Wembley Arena, London, UK
24 sep 2022
win
6 round tko
Carlos Takam
Wembley Arena, London, UK
24 jul 2021
win
10 round ko
Daniel Dubois
Church House, London, UK
28 nov 2020
win
3 round tko
Michael Wallisch
BT Sport Studio, London, UK
25 jul 2020
win
12 round ud
Bryant Jennings
O2 Arena, London, UK
13 jul 2019
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