Joe Joyce Stops Christian Hammer – 2016 UK Olympic Silver Medalist Might Get upgraded to Gold as McLaren IOC Investigation of AIBA Continues

By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

London, UK (July 6th, 2022)– Heavyweight contender and 2016 Olympic Silver Medalist Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce, Putley, London, United Kingdom, age 36, went to 14-0 with 13 knockouts, with a four-round stoppage of faded Romanian contender Christian Hammer, 27-10 with 17 knockouts, Hamburg, Germany, at Wembley Arena, in Wembley, London, United Kingdom, on July 2, 2022.

However, the real story this week involving Joyce and others who competed as amateurs at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, is whether the silver medal awarded to Joyce, and the medals and performances of others, will be upgraded shortly or later this year, as a result of the international Olympic Committee (IOC) investigation into allegations of corruption by the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) in refereeing and judging in Brazil during the Olympic Games.

Judging in Brazil during the 2016 Olympic Games left Joyce with a Super Heavy Heavyweight Silver Medal winner Tony Yoka. Joyce remains the number one mandatory contender for World Boxing Organisation World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine, currently training for his rematch with Anthony Joshua on August 20, 2022, in Saudi Arabia.

Professor Richard McLaren, the man who uncovered Russia’s state-sponsored doping program of some athletes, is now investigating boxing results at the Games by AIBA. The IOC replaced AIBA for upcoming Olympic Games after the report from McLaren revealed allegations of corruption from inside the AIBA association. McLaren’s report uncovered both financial issues, and bout integrity issues, cover a period of the decade between 2006-2017, and also points to continued alleged misconduct at later AIBA supervised tournaments. The McLaren 114-page report highlights ongoing concerns over unjustifiable and dodgy judging scores, as well as warnings by referees to boxers, plus secret signaling between officials during competitions, all of which raised major red flags.

Possibly, a number of unfair decisions, which included Joyce’s 2016 final, are expected to come under review. It should be noted neither Joyce or Yoka, who are both now boxing professionals, are accused of wrongdoing. Joyce told The Daily Mail “I’ve seen the report I could (possibly) be promoted to gold, although I’m still waiting for the medal to come in the post. Hopefully, it will happen soon, but (for) now I need to keep (concentrate on) fighting,”







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