NO sooner had Joe Joyce hammered Ian Lewison to defeat in the eighth round of an ambitious professional debut, his promoter David Haye was making plans. Haye wants Joyce, an Olympic super-heavyweight silver medallist, to fight for the British title in his next fight, in what would only be Joe’s second professional contest, on the undercard of the December 17 Haye-Bellew fight.

“We’ve offered Sam Sexton to fight on my undercard for the British title, have offered him a career-high pay day; haven’t heard back from him. We offered Dave Allen the fight on the 17th so hopefully one of those will come through. I’m not holding my breath: we’ve offered the fight,” Haye said.

Haye’s gamble with Joyce’s first fight paid off. “I don’t know any other promoter in the world who would risk a young fighter, who they’ve paid so much money for, in against someone as dangerous as Ian Lewison,” David said.

David Haye

“He’s got stuff to work with: he got caught with some big right hooks,” Haye continued. “In the amateurs you don’t have the rock-hard gloves you have in the professionals: the shots he’s used to taking like the jabs don’t have an effect in the amateurs but in the pros it’s like getting hit in the face with a piece of concrete. But he got a very, very good learning fight for his first professional fight; very few learn anything for their first five-10 fights.

“He was a little bit reckless in the first couple of rounds; took more than I’d like but he hasn’t fought for nearly a year-and-a-half. I was a little worried early when he was mixing it unnecessarily but I know he’s got a good chin.”