Boxer of the week – Joseph Joyce, British Lionhearts
Week 8 saw Joe Joyce return to the British Lionhearts line-up for the first time in Season VI and the super heavyweight was immediately back in the groove with a devastating win against USA Knockouts’ Brandon Lynch in London’s York Hall.
Born in London in 1985, Joe Joyce didn’t come to the sport of boxing until the age of 22, quickly acquiring the skills to make him a name to watch. Joyce shined at the 2011 British Championships where he stopped Frazer Clarke in the super heavyweight final to take gold, and went on to take his first international title at the 2012 Tammer Tournament in Finland .
A strong first WSB campaign during Season III saw Joyce defeat Croatian star Filip Hrgovic on route to an impressive 5-1 record, losing only to Ukraine Otamans’ London 2012 Olympic Champion Oleksandr Usyk. The English boxer then returned to AIBA Open Boxing events to win bronze at the 2013 EUBC European Confederation Championships in Minsk and romped to gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Returning to WSB in Season V, Joyce knocked out Ukraine Otamans’ Viktor Vykhryst in his opening bout and recorded a 6-1 record. Going in to the 2015 European Games as favourite, he duly won the title, defeating Russia’s Gasan Gimbatov to win the gold medal.
The super heavyweight made a welcome return to WSB action in Season VI Week 8 for the British Lionhearts’ home match against Group B rivals USA Knockouts, and quickly made his presence felt. Joyce began with a dangerous left hook in the opening seconds and refused to let up the attack, needing less than a minute to knock opponent Brendan Lynch down and claim the win.
Team of the week Week 8
Two times WSB champions, Astana Arlans Kazakhstan, are week 8 Team of the Week after their great away victory against Azerbaijan Baku Fires. They were able to show off their talent and won 3-2 after some great bouts.
Punch of the week Week 8
Arslanbek Makhmudov, from Azerbaijan Baku Fires, gave no chance to Nurzhan Bekzatov from two times champions team Astana Arlan Kazakhstan, in round 5. His breathtaking punch was one to remember and no wonder it is Punch of the Week 8.
WSB TV Magazine Week 8
As we are getting closer to the play-off stage, the competition is getting more intense. Week 8 gave some great boxing actions with some hard-fought wins. Mexico Guerreros had to fight hard against Morocco Atlas Lions. Same for Astana Arlans Kazakhstan against Azerbaijan Baku Fires. Meanwhile, British Lionhearts secured a 4-1 win against USA Knockouts.
