By Jeff Aranow: 2016 Olympic super heavyweight silver medalist Joe Joyce (7-0, 7 KOs) put on an impressive performance in destroying Joe Hanks (23-3, 15 KOs) by a 1st round knockout in a scheduled 10 round fight on the undercard of Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury on Saturday night on Showtime pay-per-view at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Joyce flattened Hanks with a big left hand in the 1st round. The referee Jerry Cantu pulled the trigger quickly in stopping the fight right away. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:25 of round 1.
Hanks had his moments in the fight early on in the 1st round. Hanks landed several nice shots that made the 6’6″ 262 lbs Joyce pause for a second. However, Joyce came back and came back and hurt Hanks with a big right to the head. Moments later, Joyce knocked Hanks flat with a left hand. It didn’t matter that the referee Jerry Cantu stopped the fight. Hanks wasn’t going to last much longer even if the fight had been allowed to continue.
The 33-year-old Joyce looked good in destroying Hanks in just one round. Joyce’s adviser Al Haymon is moving him quickly, which means you can expect him to be back inside the ring soon. Joyce’s manager Sam Jones wants to match him against either Luis Ortiz or Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller. Ortiz would be a good option. Miller isn’t a doable fight because of his promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing USA being interested in putting him in with IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Joyce is too risky of a fight for the 315 lb. Miller. Joyce has the kind of talent that could lead to him beating some of the best heavyweights in boxing. He just needs the opportunity before he gets much older. Joyce got a late start in the pro ranks due to his long amateur career in England.
Former two division world champion Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero (34-5-1, 19 KOs) defeated journeyman Adam Mate 28-13, 9 KOs) by a 2nd round knockout. Guerrero flattened Mate late in the 1st round with a left hand. In round two, Guerrero knocked Mate down with a shot to the midsection. After he got back up, Mate was dropped again by Guerrero. This time the referee Ray Corona halted the fight. The time of the stoppage was at 2:25 of round two. Guerrero looked impressive tonight.
The win for the 35-year-old Guerrero was his first of his comeback after being retired in 2017. Guerrero ended his three-fight losing streak. Before tonight, Guerrero hadn’t won a fight in three years since his victory over Aaron Martinez in 2015. Guerrero has a chance of being rebuilt by Premier Boxing Champions to bring him back for some big fights. Of course, Guerrero will need to keep beating whoever PBS puts in front of him, but eventually he’ll get a big fight against one of talented welterweights in the stable. Guerrero obviously hasn’t found the fountain of youth. He can beat guys like Mate without any problems. Where Guerrero has had problems is beating the next level guys like Omar Figueroa Jr., Danny Garcia and Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman.
