By Oscar Pick
JOE Joyce and Derek Chisora are no strangers to the euphoric victories and devastating setbacks that come with boxing.
Both were once highly touted prospects, storming through their early professional fights with destructive performances and ruthless finishes.
But now, with the pair prolonging the twilight years of their careers by gearing up for a showdown at the O2 Arena, London, this Saturday, they have two vastly different stories to tell.
Joyce made his professional debut back in 2017, coming away from the Rio Olympics with a silver medal after losing a controversial decision to Tony Yoka.
Then, after breezing past his first nine opponents with relative ease, the decorated amateur was taken the full 12-round distance by experienced operator Bryant Jennings, who even hurt the previously untested heavyweight with a sneaky body shot.
Action Images/Adam Holt
By this point, fans were already beginning to highlight Joyce’s vulnerabilities, opining that his lack of speed and defensive recklessness would prevent him from reaching world level.
That was until he stepped up to face undefeated domestic rival Daniel Dubois. While many anticipated the more explosive Dubois to come through this test with flying colours, the ‘Juggernaut’ had other plans and was able to offset his opponent’s rhythm with a stiff, authoritative jab.
Soon enough, the cracks were beginning to show, as Joyce capitalised on his opponent’s damaged eye in the 10th round, stopping him with one final, prodding left hand.
All of a sudden, the Londoner was knocking on the door for a world title shot, but needed another notable win on his resume – against a proven contender – before he could start calling out the champions.
This opportunity was presented when he fought former WBO titlist Joseph Parker, who delivered a strong performance before Joyce’s relentless pressure, and a crushing left hook, caused the New Zealander to falter in the 11th round.
With world honours seemingly just around the corner, Joyce’s next assignment arrived in the form of Zhilei Zhang, a prolific knockout artist who, to make matters worse, is known for bemusing opponents with his awkward southpaw style – enough to keep any fighter awake at night.
It was Zhang, then, who ultimately derailed Joyce’s hopes for championship glory when, after dishing out a punishing six-round demolition in their first encounter, the Chinaman landed a stunning right hook to deny the Brit his revenge in the rematch.
For Chisora, the idea of tasting defeat was never much of a concern. Before flying over to Germany for his first world title shot against Vitali Klitschko, he had already been outpointed by Robert Helenius – albeit under contentious circumstances – and Tyson Fury.
However, he did give a solid account of himself against Klitschko, and despite coming off his third professional loss, he earned the opportunity to fight David Haye at Upton Park.
Following a tense and spiteful build-up, Haye comprehensively dismantled Chisora, forcing him to spend the next two years rebuilding himself before rematching Fury who, in one of his most complete performances, orchestrated a torrid 10-round beatdown over the former British and European champion.
‘Del-boy’, as he was known back then, really breathed some life back into his career after sparking a bitter rivalry with Dillian Whyte. And despite losing the compelling slugfest on points, his stock was exponentially elevated when, two years later, he was given the opportunity to avenge the controversial defeat.
But Whyte ensured that, this time, he would bring a more conclusive end to the bout by landing his signature, pulverising left hook in the 11th round.
Once again, though, Chisora bounced back with a series of wins before daring to be great against Oleksandr Usyk and, on two occasions, Parker – with all three contests producing somewhat familiar outcomes.
Now, following a grossly one-sided trilogy with Fury, Chisora comes off a unanimous decision victory over Gerald Washington, yet, at the age of 40, is perhaps no longer the high-volume puncher he once was.