Joe Joyce had some early tough moments against veteran Carlos Takam, but his increasingly famous durability and engine held true to reputation, and he was able to force a stoppage early in the sixth round to stay undefeated.
Joyce (13-0, 12 KO) arguably lost the first three rounds of this fight, but had a turning point late in the third where he hurt Takam (39-6-1, 28 KO) just a bit, and he won the fourth and fifth frames with steady, consistent work, including some fourth round body shots that made a clear difference and slowed Takam down.
Joyce has eaten shots from opponents before, and did so again here today. He’s slow and doesn’t have the tightest defense, but he’s damn near impossible to dent, it seems, really living up to his “Juggernaut” nickname. And he just kept coming, as usual.
Feeling he had Takam ready to go, Joyce came out for the sixth round firing, and just didn’t stop for 49 seconds, until referee Steve Gray stepped in to stop the fight. The 40-year-old Takam was angry about the stoppage, but he was also not throwing anything back anymore, wobbling around, and looking ready to go. It will have been an early stoppage for some, but all things considered it’s hard to argue with Gray’s call. Joyce was fighting to force a stoppage, and he did it.
“(He hurt me) mildly, but I’m pretty tough, as they come, so I weathered the storm and fired right back,” Joyce said, giving Takam credit for his toughness and ability.
Joyce also said Takam didn’t continue his anger or complaints about the stoppage when they spoke after the fight.
“He didn’t say anything about the stoppage, we were just having a chat. Just talking to each other, paying our respects and stuff. It was a good fight, he’s a warrior. He’s been in so many great fights.”
And Joyce has a clear target: “What I want is AJ or Usyk,” he said.
Promoter Frank Warren expects Joyce to be named WBO mandatory challenger after the Joshua-Usyk fight on Sept. 25, which could still take a while to get done — Usyk is Joshua’s current WBO mandatory, so he wouldn’t get an order straight away to do another one — particularly if Fury-Joshua is to be revisited after their upcoming fights.
