Joe Joyce was almost knocked out by ‘Big Russian’ when fight was brought forward

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    Joe Joyce took a barrage of punches but still managed to stop Joseph Parker in the 11th round in September 2022.

    The British heavyweight colossus took punch after punch from the New Zealander but never showed any sign of dropping to the floor. He certainly has one of the toughest chins in the heavyweight division today, hence the reason so many want to see him take on the likes of Tyson Fury this year.

    However, his incredible tolerance of pain and ability to shake off punches like the Terminator is something that has been built up over a very long period of time. He has not always been gifted with one of the toughest jaws in boxing today.

    READ MORE: Lawrence Okolie confirms three-fight plan for 2023 after boxing champ's quiet 12 months

    Unfortunately for all boxers, the only way to strengthen your jaw and your chin in the ring is to take numerous punches to the face, over and over again. And there is one opponent in particular who certainly tested the mettle in the Juggernaut’s jaw.

    “I got put into the ring cold against Sergiy Kuzmin in the European games,” Joyce said to the Fighting on the Inside podcast. “There was supposed to be two fights before mine, so the coaches knew we had a bit of time to get ready.

    Who do you want to see Joe Joyce take on this year? Let us know in the comments section below

    “I was getting my shorts on and I was starting to put my gloves on and starting to warm-up and then the geezer came in and was like ‘you’re on now, you’re non now, go,’ The coach was like ‘wait, we need to warm up’ so I had a brief warm-up.

    “I literally jogged down to the ring as a warm-up. Kuzmin, this big Russian dude, he was looking at me. Then he came forward and he was swinging in these hooks and bent arm shots like ‘woooo’.

    “He clocks me with one and then I staggered. I think he hit me with another one. I went down, got straight back up, but then the ref was looking at me and I think I had around three counts in that right.” Joyce will certainly be hoping he has plenty of time to warm up when he takes on Chinese giant Zhilei Zhang on April 15th.

    Considering the bout is expected to be a brutal slugfest, Joyce will need his trustee chin and jaw to be at their very best.

    Fighting On The Inside Podcast features in-depth interviews with the leading figures in combat sports, all in support of Gloves Up Knives Down. Watch the full episode with Joe Joyce, and catch up on previous interviews with Billy-Joe Saunders and Johnny Fisher here

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