JOE JOYCE already has an established advantage over his heavyweight rivals… with FIVE TIMES the average human bone density.
Joyce announced himself further to the blue ribband division by becoming the first man to stop Joseph Parker.
It was a career-best win, which Tyson Fury watched from ringside and Anthony Joshua is sure to have taken notice of.
Parker, 30, landed some massive shots during the Manchester thriller but Joyce, 37, just walked through them.
But it is no wonder the 2016 Olympian has such an iron chin – because of his miraculously strong bones.
He told BT Sport’s Carl Frampton: “I did a test in Middlesex, at the Saracens ground.
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“And all the rugby players had the same test in the DEXA scan and the next highest was like times three, but I was like times five.”
Joyce admitted he does not want to rely on his granite chin for too long, despite it being a lethal weapon.
He said: “I prefer not to get hit, yeah it helps. If I do get hit, I can keep moving forward.”
Joyce’s sparring partner Johnny Fisher has witnessed first hand just how strong Joyce’s chin is.
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He said on From The Corner: “Joyce is a very very special, unique individual.
“And I’ve seen him sparring in Vegas, getting left hook after left hook after left hook.
“Someone landed four left hooks on Joe Joyce’s chin, and he didn’t even move.”
Joyce’s win earned him the WBO “interim” title, guaranteeing himself a shot at Oleksandr Usyk’s belt.
Usyk, 35, beat Joshua, 32, on points twice in the space of 11 months but ruled himself out of a unification bout with Fury until next year.
So Fury, 34, reacted by offering AJ an unlikely title shot on December 3 in Cardiff, with talks ongoing.
It leaves Joyce momentarily on the outside, although he will take any of the three tops names, refusing to be picky.
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He told SunSport: “The dream next fight would probably be Usyk, or Fury, or Joshua.
“There’s all the top names and they’re obviously great, exciting fights.
“I’m at the top of the division now in the elite level, so I will fight anyone.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk