Haye hands Joe Joyce his pro debut at the O2 Indigo on Friday, October 20 and the Londoner is apparently so solid, opponents will hurt their hands hitting him!
So says Frazer Clarke – and he should know.
He lost four battles with Joyce in the amateurs – including a pair of ABA finals – and has taken over as Britain’s No 1 super heavyweight after Joyce decided to ditch the vest.
The 32 year old made the switch after winning silver at last summer’s Rio Olympics and Clarke says he’s going to be hard to stop in the pros.
Joyce launches his paid career with what looks to be an ambitious match against Ian Lewison in front of the Dave cameras.
The hot-and-cold South Londoner went 10 rounds with Dillian Whyte for the vacant British title last October, but according to Clarke, Joyce will beat him comfortably.
“Joe is already at British level,” said Clarke, silver medallist at the European championships this summer.
“He could win the British title tomorrow and with a few learning fights, he can get to world level.
“He’s very effective. He’s a difficult man to beat.
“Heavyweights should not be as fit as Joe is, shouldn’t come forward that much and be that strong. He can take a shot and he’s super duper game.
“He really is a beast.
“He’s solid. When you hit him, it hurts your hands. That’s how solid he is.
“With his strength and fitness, there’s no reason why Joe can’t get to world level.
“He will beat Lewison comfortably. It will be all over after three rounds. Joe will overwhelm these guys. They are used to fighting at a slow pace – and Joe fights at a high pace. After three or four rounds, Lewison will be fed up.”
Joyce threw around 100 punches per round in Rio last summer and was considered unlucky not to get the decision over Tony Yoka in the final.
He also won Commonwealth Games and European Games gold and was successful in World Series of Boxing, but Clarke does feel Joyce needs to tighten up defensively.
“Joe does get hit too much,” said Clarke, targeting next year’s Commonwealth Games in Australia.
“He does have a great chin, but when you get in there with the real big hitters like Deontay Wilder and (Anthony) Joshua, you don’t want to be taking too many punches.”
READ MORE:
David Haye Announces A Series Of Fights For October 20th