This past weekend was not devoid of any shocks as British heavyweights Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora clashed in what was initially thought to be a mismatch where Joyce was expected to win easily, only for Chisora to net a decisive unanimous decision (UD) victory instead. In addition, Claressa Shields racked up her first stoppage win in years after defeating her opponent, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, early in the 2nd round of their 10-round fight in her home state of Michigan.

Joe Joyce Vs. Derek Chisora

Queensberry Promotions organized an event at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday, July 27th, that was headlined by its longtime fighter, Joe Joyce (16-3, 15 KO’s), and veteran combatant Derek Chisora (35-13, 23 KO’s).

Despite a win having been expected for Joyce, given the pre-match odds before the match and the relative comparison of their careers, with the 40-year old Chisora known to be quite battle-worn after a career that has spanned twice as long as that of the 38-year old Joyce.

Throughout the fight, Joe Joyce failed to meet the expectations of his perceived ability. Their match quickly turned into a slugfest from the opening bell, with both fighters landing clean punches. However, it was Chisora who showed remarkable determination and toughness throughout the fight; both traits that saw Joyce become an open target as Chisora’s work rate belied the lack of conditioning he displayed through the latter half of their 10-round fight.

The resounding failure of Joyce to avoid Chisora’s punches, who has been known as a heavy puncher throughout his career, backfired for Joyce in the 9th round when he was caught with a shot that dropped him and was officially ruled as a knockdown for Chisora.

While Joyce recovered quickly, that moment proved to be pivotal as it marked Chisora’s effectiveness throughout the match; one that was eventually rewarded with a unanimous decision (UD) in Chisora’s favor with the judges’ scorecards of 96-94 twice, and 97-92.

Joyce’s loss has certainly set his career back now, putting him farther away from any ambitions to conquer a world title. This has become more evident by the way he failed to stop a weathered fighter in Chisora, who had been struggling to keep up with the pace of the match despite delivering a spirited performance that exceeded expectations.

Moving forward, Joe Joyce must now prioritize improvement as much as activity, which will only be a hard task given his age of 38, and the downsides that come with being an aged fighter. As such, Joyce is fighting an uphill battle if he attempts to both resurrect his career and improve his ability as a fighter.

Undercard results:

British heavyweight (200+ lbs) prospect, Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KO’s) did the exact opposite of Joe Joyce in that he perfectly matched his status as a favorite with a technical knockout (TKO) victory over Polish veteran Mariusz Wach (38-11, 20 KO’s) in the 2nd round of their 10-round undercard bout; culminating in Itauma winning the WBO inter-continental heavyweight title in the process.

Claressa Shields vs. Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

Canadian fighter Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-2, 2 KO’s) was the reigning WBC heavyweight champion when she stepped into the ring against American challenger Claressa Shields (15-0, 3 KO’s), who came in as the undisputed middleweight (160 lbs) champion. The [vacant] WBO light-heavyweight (175 lbs) title was also on the line during their match.

Notably, the heavyweight division is regarded by the WBC as any division above super middleweight (168 lbs), including the light-heavyweight category which the two officially fought according to their weigh-ins; as both fighters had come in weighing little before 175 pounds.

Their headlining bout was held at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan [on Saturday, July 27th], which notably represented a hometown front for Claressa Shields who was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, and has had several “homecoming” fights at the Little Caesars Arena prior.

Despite Shields’ low KO ratio, even in comparison to Joanisse who despite having had the same amount knockouts [two], had a greater KO ratio due to having had less fights. As such, while Shields came in as the clear favorite, further helped by the fact she was engaging in a hometown fight of sorts, it seems as if her jump in two weight classes tremendously aided her power as she would go on to knock down Joanisse thrice during the match.

Shields won the 1st round mostly through her ring dominance, applying her jab well as she maintained a fair distance while Joanisse sought to engage with Shields from the inside. Despite being chased by Joanisse, Shields’ efficiency saw her stave off any sort of trouble as she quickly maneuver herself to safety when trapped, and used her ability to outpoint Joanisse.

However, the 2nd round proved to be a bit more uncharacteristic for Claressa Shields as the match saw her pinned to the ropes. While that could be construed as a move by Shields to trap Joanisse, thus allowing Shields to mount her counterattacks, Shields’ counters proved to be more effective than expected as Joanisse was knocked down after being countered following two missed hooks.

The knockdown completely turned the match upside down, allowing Shields to now be the one pressuring Joanisse which resulted in two more knockdowns. The last knockdown, which clearly saw Joanisse display to no longer have the legs necessary to continue, the match was waved off by the referee, culminating in Shields being announced as the winner by TKO and winning the WBC heavyweight and WBO light-heavyweight titles.

Where Shields goes from here is unknown. Competition appears scarce in the 175 lbs division and above, and aside from New Zealand IBF light-heavyweight champion Lani Daniels (10-2-2, 1 KO’s), there does not appear to be an actual challenge for Shields.

The 168 lbs division might be more suited to Shields, given former rival Savannah Marshall (13-1, 10 KO’s) still holds three titles [WBA, WBO and IBF] in the division, while Shields’ debutant opponent, Franchon Crews-Dezurn (9-2, 2 KO’s), holds the WBC title.

Going for an undisputed run at super middleweight would be the next logical course for Claressa Shields given the history she has had with both champions in the division, and the opportunity for her to become undisputed for the third time of her career in a division she has yet to conquer. Given Shields also seemed to benefit from fighting at a higher weight class, making the move up from 160 lbs to 168 lbs [or down from 175 lbs to 168 lbs] could see her retain some of the power she’s displayed last weekend, which only adds to the entertainable factors of potential fights with Crews-Dezurn and Marshall.

While Shields has now been acknowledged as a WBC heavyweight champion and WBO light-heavyweight champion, she will likely need to quickly decide which division she continues in, which will result in all her four middleweight titles being vacated if she chooses not to return to 160 lbs.

Undercard results:

• At super lightweight (140 lbs), Uzbek contender Shohjahon Ergashev (24-2, 21 KO’s) suffered a close but debilitating split-decision loss to American fighter Julian Smith (9-2, 5 KO’s)―who notably entered the fight as an unranked contender. Smith won the 10-round fight through two judges’ scorecards of 95-94, with the third judge’s card of 95-94 going in favor of Ergashev. Another notable fact surrounding Smith is the fact he is a handicapped fighter, giving he has hearing impairments that resulted in him becoming “deaf”; making him one of the few, if only, hearing-impared fighters in the entire sport.
  
• In the same 140 lbs division, former lightweight (135 lbs) Dominican contender Michel Rivera (26-1, 14 KO’s) competed in his second super lightweight match in a row against Argentinian contender Hugo Alberto Roldan (22-3-1, 7 KO’s). While Rivera won the 10-round bout by split-decision, controversy stems from one of the judges’ scorecards that ruled the fight 94-95 in favor of Roldan, which sharply contrasted the two other judges’ scores of 99-90 and 98-91 to depict a clear and dominant win for Rivera.
  
• American female light-heavyweight contender Danielle Perkins (5-0, 2 KO’s) competed in her 5th overall career match where she presided over a UD win over Scottish contender Christianne Fahey (2-2, 2 KO’s).