Joe Joyce: Bermane Stiverne corner in DISARRAY seconds before Juggernaut claims TKO win
JOE JOYCE claimed a dominant stoppage victory over Bermane Stiverne on Saturday night.
The Englishman took his record to 8-0 as he battered Stiverne in a heavily one-sided contest at the O2 Arena.
Exiting the ring, Joyce looked unphased by the six rounds he had just undergone, while Stiverne was a sorry state.
But moments before the Canadian was saved by referee Howard Foster, his corner was in disarray.
Trainer Charles Mooney was the calmest of the three men, but one of Stiverne's entourage yelled in the face of the cutman seconds before the bout was brought to an end.
The cutman was an animated figure throughout but went quiet during the sixth round as it became clear his fighter was heading towards a loss.
Pondering Stiverne's fate, another member of the team faced him and yelled: "Come on! Come on! Let's do this!"
But as the rallying cry happened, Stiverne was copping shots left, right and centre.
The former WBC world champion weighed a career high 273 pounds before the fight and it was evident from early on.
He opted to lean on the ropes from the first round and offered no head movement as Joyce teed off.
Stiverne buckled in the third without hitting the deck but survived a count.
He somehow managed to stay in the fight during rounds four and five but did not claim 10 points in a three-minute passage all night.
As Joyce began to hit at an open target in the sixth, Foster stopped the fight and the Englishman duly claimed the commonwealth world heavyweight title.