David Haye Gives High Praise To Joe Joyce For ‘Perfect’ Knockout Win Over Parker

Former two-division world champion David Haye praised Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce for his dramatic knockout of former world champion Joseph Parker on Saturday night in Manchester.

In a clash for the vacant WBO interim title, Joyce began shedding a very plucky Parker with each passing round.

The end finally came in the eleventh, when a bloodied Parker was sent to the canvas with a big left hand. Parker was seriously injured, unable to beat the count, and the fight was called off.

Haye, who was watching from ringside, felt that Joyce made a big statement with the win.

“He was perfect, he came out and set up his jab and completely took Parker’s heart out. Parker looked exhausted from the second round, from the second round he looked uncomfortable,” Haye said.

“Joyce kept tap tap tapping that jab. No massive shots, but they are shots from a huge 19-stone man. Parker is going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow. You have to give Parker credit, he took so much punishment in that fight. I’m not sure what he’ll do in the future, but that’s the most conclusive beatdown you could ever want to see. We finally find out, does Joyce’s chin absorb world-class power? The answer is yes.”

Joyce is now in a mandatory position for unified world champion Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the WBO, IBF, IBO and WBA world titles.

Last month, Usyk retained his title with a twelve-round decision victory in his rematch with Anthony Joshua. Usyk will be looking for the biggest fights possible in 2023, with WBC champion Tyson Fury and former champion Deontay Wilder on his list.