Heavyweight Joe Joyce stops Carlos Takam, title shot could be next

Coming off what many considered an upset victory over rising heavyweight Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce had to walk through some heavy punches to stop Carlos Takam in round six at SSE Arena in London, Eng. Saturday night.

Joyce is now in line to fight the winner of next month’s Anthony Joshua – Oleksandr Usyk heavyweight title showdown.

In round one, the six-foot-six-inch Joyce (13-0, 12 KOs) jabbed and jabbed, while the shorter Takam bobbed and fired overhand rights. A number of them landed.

Joyce pressed the fight in round two. He landed a left and a combination. Takam fired shots downstairs. In the last 20 seconds of the stanza, he moved his attack to the head and connected. Joyce, 35, let his hands go more in round three. He also connected with a strong blow to the belly. Takam, 40, let fly with punches, but only a few bodyshots scored. Joyce seemed to hurt Takam at the end of the heat.

Takam (39-6-1, 28 KOs) did well in round four with what else, right hands. Joyce moved to his right and jabbed. He worked the body.

In round five, Takam came out punching. Joyce blocked em, but did eat a big swinging left hand. Joyce kept pumping his jab. Takam looked gassed at the conclusion of the round.

A big left hook in the opening seconds of round six wobbled Takam. Joyce went for broke, as blood dripped from Takam’s nose. Joyce kept punching. A right hand knocked Takam into the ropes. The punch convinced referee Steve Gray to wave the fight off. Takam was incensed.

The stoppage did appear premature.

The time was 49 seconds of round six.

Not a particularly impressive performance from Joyce. He ate far too many punches.

“He’s (Takam) a tough adequate lion,” said Joyce. “I took my opportunity and went for him.”