By Ian S Palmer
The WBC Silver and WBO International Heavyweight Titles are on the line at Wembley Arena in London, England this Saturday, July 2nd as undefeated hometown hero Joe Joyce defends his belts against veteran heavyweight contender Christian Hammer of Romania. Joyce won those belts as well as the British, European and Commonwealth Titles the last time out in November, 2021 when he stopped young prospect Daniel Dubois in the 10th round. He then defended them all by stopping veteran Carlos Takam in six rounds last July. Hammer last saw action in May when he stopped Drazan Janjanin in the first round. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the UK on BT Sport 1.
The 36-year-old Joyce didn’t turn pro until late in 2017. He enjoyed a fine amateur career with gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 European Games. He also took home a silver from the 2016 Olympics in Brazil in the super-heavyweight division when he lost the gold-medal match to Tony Yoka of France.
Joyce owns a perfect pro record of 13-0 with 12 wins coming by way of knockout. He stands 6-feet-6-inches tall with an 80-inch reach and it’s obvious he has some power in his fists with a 92.3 per cent KO record. His opponents so far have been Carlos Takam, Daniel Dubois, Michael Wallisch, Bryant Jennings, Alexander Ustinov, former WBC World Champion Bermane Stiverne, Ian Lewison, Rudolf Jozic, Donnie Palmer, Lenroy Thomas, Ivica Bacurin, Iago Kiladze and Joe Hanks.
It’s not exactly an elite list of heavyweights but each one of his opponents had a winning record. Joyce’s boxing skills haven’t had a chance to be showcased very often as he has four first-round Ko’s as well as one in the second stanza and two in the third and has boxed just 59 rounds since turning pro. Joyce won the vacant WBA Continental Heavyweight Belt with his win over Hanks in December, 2018 and the only man to go the distance with him so far has been Bryant, who lasted 12 rounds in July, 2019 but dropped a unanimous decision.
The 34-year-old Hammer fights out of Germany and climbs through the ropes with a record of 27-9 with 16 Ko’s. He owns average power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 47.2 per cent in his 207 rounds boxed since making his pro debut in 2008. Hammer stands just over 6-feet-2-inches tall with a 78-inch reach so gives up 3.5-inches in height and two inches in reach to Joyce.
Hammer has faced some pretty good opposition over the years by taking on the likes of Tyson Fury and his cousin Hughie Fury as well as Frank Sanchez, Luis Ortiz, Alexander Povetkin, Tony Yoka, David Price, Kevin Johnson, Danny Williams, Michael Sprott, Sherman Williams, Michael Wallisch and Mariusz Wach. He’s lost six of his last 26 fights but has dropped five of his past 10. His first defeat since 2011 was to Tyson Fury in February, 2015 when the contest was halted at the end of the eighth round and he dropped a unanimous decision to Povetkin in Dec, 2017.
His other career losses came against Wach by sixth-round KO in 2010, Taras Bidenko by sixth-round majority decision in 2010, a 10-round unanimous decision to Ortiz in 2019, by first-round stoppage to Robert Gregor in his pro debut back in 2008, a 10-round unanimous decision to Yoka in 2020, a fifth round stoppage to Hughie Fury last October and a 10-round unanimous decision to Frank Sanchez in January.
Since he’s been stopped in four of his eight defeats and has been dropped several other times it’s reasonable to state he owns a questionable chin. Still, Hammer’s a solid European-level boxer and former German and WBO Heavyweight European Champion with plenty of experience and could be somewhat underrated, but will need to be at his very best to beat Joyce.
Prediction…
Hammer is actually younger than Joyce and has fought better opposition as a pro. He’s a durable boxer with average power but generally falls short when stepping up in class. He’ll be up against Joyce’s excellent jab and power and while he may last the distance I’m not expecting Hammer to beat Joyce Saturday night, although he may frustrate him somewhat.
