Carlos Takam 39-6-1 (28) says he was ready to take Joe ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce 23-0 (12) out when referee Steve Gray stepped in and stopped him in the sixth round of their heavyweight clash at The SSE Arena in London, England on Saturday night.
The 40-year-old French veteran started the fight well, repeatedly landing overhand rights to the jaw of the local fighter. Joyce jolted him with a right hand late in the third round but it really took until the fifth for him to work his way into the fight.
Early in the sixth frame Joyce hurt Takam and jumped on his opponent, letting his hands fly. With Takam defending but not punching back, referee Steve Gray stepped in to stop the fight at the 0:49 mark.
Team Takam believes it was a premature stoppage.
“Joe Joyce was punching at me yes, but I see that he was getting really tired, so I tried to keep my hands up, that was my strategy, to come back after he was tired and put him out,” the Cameroon-born Takam said.
“He stopped the fight and I ask why? Why? I used my experience, I know what I am doing, but he stopped the fight.”
Joyce admitted he was stung by Takam’s punches during the fight.
“He’s a tough lion, so all credit to him,” he said immediately afterwards. “It was a good fight. He hit me with some good shots and I managed to work out where to land, so I had to take my opportunity when I saw it.
“Did Takam hurt me? Mildly. But I’m as tough as they come and I weathered the storm and fired right back.”
The 35-year-old Joyce is expected to return to the ring in October while he awaits a shot at the winner of Anthony Joshua 24-1 (22) versus Oleksandr Usyk 18-0 (13) fight at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in Tottenham, England on September 25.
Takam’s promoter Joe DeGuardia would like to see an immediate rematch.
“He was alert. You could see in his eyes he was aware of what was going on and was defending himself,” DeGuardia said.
“While certainly a factor, it’s not just about whether a fighter is throwing punches back. When you have an experienced veteran fighter like Carlos, who is clearly winning an important heavyweight fight, it’s important to get it right.
“The referee must also know who is in that ring, his acumen, experience, basically his ring generalship. These are things that must be taken into consideration in order to make the right call.
“Unfortunately for Carlos tonight, we believe the wrong decision was made and that he was alert and defending himself while waiting to launch his counter-attack at the right precise moment. We think a rematch is warranted.”
