Joe Joyce is a force to be reckoned with in the ring, but the big man from London has finally been shown to be human – he’s admitted fearing somebody’s power in the ring.
‘The Juggernaut’ is famous in the heavyweight division for both his relentless gas tank and his incredible punch resistance. Thankfully for him, the one man he seems to not want to take a punch from is in another sport – for now.
Joyce spoke to Givemesport about his experience in the States sparring UFC Heavyweight Champion, Francis Ngannou
“I sparred Ngannou before the Dubois fight, he’s a big, powerful unit. It was a good experience to spar him. He’s a freak of nature. He’s got phenomenal power. Most of the time I was trying to get away from those power shots to avoid getting my head taken off.”
It’s hard to imagine Joyce moving away from an opponent given his tendency to walk straight through people, but that perhaps just speaks to the man from Cameroon’s power.
The sparring took place at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas where Ngannou trains and works on improving on his 17 wins in the in the sport. 12 of those were knockouts, and the champ has lost three.
There has been talk of him crossing over to boxing in the past, with a mega fight against Tyson Fury targetting. Joyce would like a piece of him in the professional ring, too.
“I’d love to fight him though but let’s keep it simple with boxing. The UFC is too much, man. Credit to all those guys because they have to train so hard in all these different areas like they have to be so well-rounded in the kicking, the striking, the grappling and the submissions and all that so it’s a lot you have to train for.”
Joe Joyce’s last outing was an impressive knockout victory over the tough Joseph Parker. His next move hasn’t been planned just yet, but he’s knocking on the door of the world titles.