Before I left you all in the lurch, to go on my summer vacation, I was championing the chances of Joe Joyce following in the footsteps of Anthony Joshua and claiming the Olympic gold medal in the super-heavyweight division.
Sat in front of, to put it kindly, a small television in an apartment in the Canary Islands, I was, I?d suggest, many a British sports fan hoping that Joe could see off the challenge presented by the current amateur super-heavyweight champion, Tony Yoka.
The duo had met twice before, each winning once, and it was pretty clear that it would be a tough contest.
As it turned out Joyce would have to be happy with the silver medal after losing the bout on a split decision, with the scores being given as:
? 30 ? 27 (in favour of Yoka)
? 29 ? 28 (in favour of Yoka)
? 29 ? 28 (in favour of Joyce)
As in several of the fights the scoring was controversial, Joyce appeared to throw more shots and caught his opponent with more shots than he was caught with himself.
Speaking to the media after the bout, Joyce had this to say,
‘It was the last medal at the Olympic Games and I thought the gold was mine so I will just have to watch it back and see where it went wrong.
‘My coach let me know I was down but I was landing shots all of the last round.
‘All throughout I was throwing punches, going through his guard and it was just the odd shot he nicked.
‘I gave it my all, got the training right. I am just disappointed. Silver isn’t that bad. I expected the gold but it wasn’t to be.’
With regards to Joyce?s future, will he, at 30 years of age, stick around for the Tokyo Olympics or will he opt to become a professional?
It?s a difficult decision and only one that Joe Joyce can decide upon.
It wasn?t to be for Joe Joyce!
