Joe Joyce outboxes and decisions Bryant Jennings!
Bryant “By-By” Jennings, the man once seen as a serious problem at heavyweight has taken a few setbacks over last four years. Since losing his first title bid to Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, he was immediately knocked out by Luis Ortiz and more recently, by Oscar Rivas in January.
Joe Joyce “Juggernaut” Joyce has his eyes on moving up the heavyweight rankings. at 9-0 with 9 knockouts, he wants a shot at the title as soon as possible! This led to taking this a fight with arguably the most dangerous “known” contender available.
Early-On
Everything was “tit-for-tat” early on with Joyce getting the better of the exchanges due to his volume. The bigger man did an excellent job of maintaining distance and keeping Jennings on the end of his punches.
There was a scare late in the first round where Juggernaut over-extended himself and paid for it from a left-hook to the body. This immediately put him on the defensive as By-By desperately tried to land another shot to the body.
The Middle Rounds
The tone had been set previously. Joyce would utilize his excellent conditioning by continuing to keep throwing punches.
Jennings, although having the reach advantage, had to position himself at mid-range in order to get off. The fact that the British boxer was taller and very active, made it hard for the American to develop a rhythm from the outside.
Since Juggernaut sacrifices his defense to have a consistent offense, Jennings was able to land some good shots in several exchanges. The problem was the volume. As much as By-By landed, Joyce could answer back with a barrage of shots and send him on his back-foot; rendering him ineffective.
The Championship Rounds
The start of the last three rounds looked great for the American. He had finally found himself in position to land combinations, specifically the uppercut. However, a round in which he seemed to be winning was stripped from him as the referee deducted a point for a low-blow.
The issue here is Joyce had been given numerous warnings for the same infraction. Ironically, it would be Jennings who would be punished.
Nevertheless, the under-dog may have gotten the better of the championship rounds overall, but he spent the majority of the final round sitting on the ropes in a defensive shell. This would make it even easier to give the favorite the edge as the final bell rang.
The Results
The issue with Jennings was his activity. In addition, he did not utilize his foot-speed to provide angles against his much slower opponent.
The British fighter, though he did not impress, did more. The volume, the ability to push By-By on his back-foot and keep him on the defense would grant him the nod.
The scorecards read 118-109, 117-110 and 115-112. 3kingsboxing.com scored the fight 116-111 for Joyce.
Jennings would show his displeasure after the fight while the UK fans didn’t seem that all impressed.
In the post-fight interview, the winner expressed his want to face WBA regular champion Manuel Charr next. To be honest, that is probably the fight he should pursue if he wants a shot at one of the champions next!
By: EJ Williams
