Joe Joyce took 124 power punches from Joseph Parker in eleven rounds, and he looked like he had just been for a leisurely jog around his local park.
‘The Juggernaut’ confirmed all of the stories about his durability and then some on Saturday night, as he came out victorious over Parker with an 11th round knockout via a sharp left hook. We’ve broken down the punch stats via CompuBox in the lead up to the stoppage.
What’s equally as impressive as the highlight reel KO, is that Joyce threw 844 punches over the 11 rounds. Let’s put that into perspective. In Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch with Anthony Joshua, the Ukrainian champion threw 712 punches over twelve rounds. In Tyson Fury’s trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder, ‘The Gypsy King’ threw 385 punches over 11 rounds.
Despite absorbing some big power shots from Parker, 124 of them to be precise, Joyce actually increased his output in the second half of the fight. Rounds 1-5 saw him throw 336, landing 91. From the 6th until the stoppage in the 11th, the London fighter threw 471 punches, 217 of which scored.
The steep increase in landed punches tells the story of the fight well – Parker at points looked like he physically couldn’t hold up his guard. On the subject of the New Zealander, his heart must be commended. Taking all of that from a 270lb, 6 ft 6 in man for 11 rounds is quite incredible.
Another stat that does well to sum up the action is jabs landed. Joyce’s 106 to Parker’s 23 is telling. The away fighter was seen by many as quicker and more technical in the lead up to the fight, but the stats say that he out landed Joyce in only two rounds.
This heavyweight fight – reminiscent of an old-school battle with absolutely no fear in either man – saw 1410 punches thrown and 455 of them landing. In the end, all that really matters is one – the precise left hook that sent Parker to the canvas.
In short, ‘The Juggernaut’ seems to be everything people say about him and more. This was, some would say by far, the toughest test of his career – and his performance has officially put the heavyweight division on notice.