What was a relatively sparse boxing schedule this past 4th of July weekend was highlighted by a heavyweight clash at the Wembley Arena in the UK, which saw Joe Joyce stop Christian Hammer in four rounds.
Yeah, yeah, I hear the critics of 'the Juggernaut' loud and clear.
He's slow, plodding, more mechanical and stiff than 'Giant Robot' and gets hit with everything -- including the kitchen sink.
The Juggernaut rolls through Hammer! | Joe Joyce v Christian Hammer | Official Fight Highlights
But y'know what? That's fine. Joyce is fun to watch. He throws a multitude of punches, he keeps grinding away and isn't easily dissuaded in there. What you get with him isn't necessarily artistic, but then aren't we hear to watch fights, not necessarily fine art? I can go to a museum for that stuff.
For me, he's perfectly flawed.
BT Sports
When Joyce fights, I'm interested in it because its generally entertaining. There are a multitude of more skilled practitioners of 'the Sweet Science' but don't provide nearly the level of fun and mayhem that comes from most of his bouts. Last I checked fans are here to be entertained, not necessarily educated.
Later on Saturday night I had a chance to watch the UFC 276 (yeah, I do watch this on occasion) and I have to admit, that while Israel Adesanya was dominant in defeating Jared Cannonier over five rounds, the consensus was that it was a rather dull affair. Many are calling it downright boring. Regardless, Adesanya is considered elite in his realm, while Joyce isn't.
Yet, on this day, I know which guy I'd pay money to watch moving forward.
Queensberry Promotions
Lets be clear about this, you can enjoy all kinds of combat athletes and their myriad of styles. But this is really about why Joyce should be appreciated for what he is. And it's not like he can't fight, currently he is rated eighth by Ring Magazine, while ranked first by the WBO and second by the WBC after just 14 fights. He has a win over the more highly regarded Daniel Dubois back in November of 2020.
If he were to get in the ring with some of marquee heavyweights, Joyce would surely be the underdog. Which I certainly don't disagree with, but I'm not sure anyone really has an easy time of it with him. My feeling is that he's one of those guys that looks much easier to beat from outside the ring, than it is in reality as you face him.
Joyce is 36 years old. So at this juncture, he is what he is. There is no changing him.
Which is a good thing.
MOVING ALONG
Speaking of UFC 276, just out of curiosity, I kept track of how quickly they moved fights in and out on this pay-per-view broadcast (which was produced and distributed by ESPN). One of my current pet peeves is that boxing broadcasts are paced much too slowly and drag on.
Bottom line, the fans don't care to have 30-40 minute intermissions between each bout. (Although, that does come in handy, admittedly, when you want to buy a beer, or relieve yourself)
On this night from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the UFC did run at a quicker pace than boxing for the most part. For instance, after the truncated ending to the Sean O'Malley-Pedro Munhoz bout, which ended at 7:36 (Pacific Time), by 7:50, Robbie Lawler and Bryan Barberena were battling inside the Octagon.
UFC
That dramatic bout (which saw Barberena score a second round stoppage of Lawler) ended at 8:01. At 8:17, Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira were doing battle. Now, the last two bouts both had a delay of right around 25 minutes.
But generally they kept things moving at a faster pace than most boxing telecasts.
By the way, this pay-per-view card started at 7 pm, most boxing pay-per-view's begin at 6 pm.
FINAL FLURRIES
Josh Taylor has vacated WBC 140-pound title, which means that Jose Ramirez and Jose Zepeda will duke it out again for the green belt. Meanwhile, it looks like Taylor will rematch Jack Catterall, who many believe should've had his hands raised when they met a few months back....Australia has a new world champion as Jai Opetaia boxed well early on and then held off the late charge of Maris Breidis to capture the IBF cruiserweight belt.....Barberena-Lawler was by far the best bout on UFC 276.....Hope everyone out there had a great 4th of July....I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com.....
