Joe Joyce, the WBO’s number-one contender, won the vacant WBO “interim” heavyweight title by stopping the organization’s number-two man, former WBO titlist Joseph Parker, with a counter hook to the jaw early in round 11.
“The Juggernaut” lived up to his nickname in rounds 6-11 as he turned a relatively even bout (Joyce led 91-82 overall and 44-16 jabs but trailed 66-49 power after five rounds) into a rout as he raised his work rate from 67.2 in the first five to 95 in rounds 6-11 while Parker’s dropped from 56 to 53.5 over the same span.
As a result, Joyce led 217-79 overall, 64-8 jabs and 153-71 power during that stretch to extend his final leads to 308-147 overall, 106-23 jabs, 96-61 body and 202-124 power despite taking 48% of Parker’s power shots (he landed 42% of his own bombs).
Joyce’s relentless pressure and work rate (81.6 punches per round for the fight to Parker’s 54.7) helped him overcome his defensive issues as well as open a cut over Parker’s right eye in round seven. Also, Joyce’s excellent jabbing (35.2 attempts/10.2 connects per round to Parker’s 29.5/2.2) helped him create a 36%-26% gap in total accuracy, a 29%-8% lead in jab precision, and a 9-2 margin in the CompuBox round-by-round breakdown of total connects.
Joyce’s 308 total punches landed and 202 power landed were most by a Parker opponent. Joyce turned up the heat in rounds 6 thru 10, landing 40 of 94 punches per round. Heavyweight average: 14.5 of 44.3.