Joe Joyce loved cheerleading and springboard diving before becoming fearsome heavyweight boxer
JOE JOYCE has professed his love for extreme sports – while also revealing he has a nimble side.
The Brit heavyweight used to enjoy springboard diving and cheerleading because, despite being 6ft 6in, he can “twist and flip” through the air.
As a youngster Joyce, 37, dreamt of Olympic glory in athletics.
But the multitalented Juggernaut also tried his luck with other sports before turning to boxing.
When asked what he’d do if he wasn’t a boxer, Joyce told SunSport: “I was even considering doing springboard diving because I grew up by Putney Leisure Centre and did a lot of stuff on the boards.
“I could do a lot of somersaults and different things, so I was interested in doing that.
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“Maybe I could have done a thing with Tom Daley, what is it the duo thing? But maybe not I don’t know… I’m a tall guy.
“But I can twist and I can flip as well and I enjoyed cheerleading for example, and doing the somersaults and stuff.”
Joyce was a latecomer to boxing, taking up the sport in his early twenties and not turning pro until after his 31st birthday.
But as soon as he laced up the gloves and stepped out onto the canvas, he knew it was the sport for him.
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The Juggernaut added: “When I started boxing, I knew that this was the sport I wanted to be in.
“I had the enjoyment factor, and I could see with each fight that I was getting closer and closer to where I wanted to be.
“And all I needed to do was keep winning my fights and I could see the route to the top. It was very clear I was in the right place.”
Joyce did achieve his Olympic dream, not in athletics but in boxing, controversially being denied gold but winning silver at Rio 2016.
Six years later and Joyce now has heavyweight title glory in his sights after brutally knocking out Joseph Parker last weekend.
As interim champion he is in line for a shot at Oleksandr Usyk’s WBO belt, while WBC champ Tyson Fury has even suggested he could LOSE to Joyce if the two Brits were to fight.
Both Usyk and Fury, as well as Anthony Joshua, are on Joyce’s wishlist for when he returns to the ring in spring 2023.
With one of the division’s elite eyed for his next fight, it’s a good thing the Juggernaut doesn’t mind taking the punishment that comes with being a pro boxer.
Joyce concluded: “I like extreme sports… and boxing for me is an extreme sport.
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“It has the adrenaline, the excitement, there’s a lot of fans.
“It’s good fun to punch someone in the face… and I don’t mind getting punched in the face either as you can tell.”