“I don’t think I’ll ever slow down” – John Joyce promises relentless Waterford display

John Joyce [3(2)-0] continues to step up through the ranks this Saturday night.

The Dublin welterweight is in action on the inaugural Ring Kings bill in Waterford where he will make the move up to six-round fights.

It’s a step up just two and a half months on from his last fight. While most boxers that fight in December would have taken the month off for a bit of a blow-out, Joyce was straight back in the gym.

It meant Christmas wasn’t a raucous affair, but for the 31-year-old this was no issue.

“It’s never a sacrifice,” he told Irish-Boxing.com. “It’s just extra training on top of the training I already do. Not drinking doesn’t bother me, to be honest.”

“I just love training, training is my deal. I just love being fit.”

With this high-octane approach, Joyce dismisses the need to tailor his approach as he moves from four rounds to six. Promising to be as relentless as ever, he admits that “I don’t think I’ll ever slow down. I’ll just get fitter.”

“Every time I do a training camp, I feel like I can push myself a bit more. I’m pumping up the amount of round I’m doing in sparring, I’m pumping up the amount of rounds I’m doing on pads, and I still feel do a bit more.

On Saturday Joyce will face Hungarian Ferenc Jarko, who should provide a good measuring stick. Bar a first-round stoppage defeat to elite prospect Lewis Crocker, the young Magyar has tested Irish opposition, bringing both Sean Creagh and Stephen Carroll the full six.

Joyce is not underestimating the tough Jarko and noted how “he’s decent, I’ve watched him, so it’s a bit of a step up as well. We’ll see how it goes.”

“We’ll see. I could do six rounds in my sleep. I’ll figure him out, I’ll see what way he takes my shots and, if he doesn’t take them, he doesn’t take them.”

His fight at the WIT Arena will be Joyce’s first outside Dublin, and he is happy for the away day.

“It’ll be different, but it’ll be good,” Joyce reasoned.

“It’s going to be weird being in the dressing room without any of my stablemates, I’m used to having the other lads around me. It’s a change, but it’s a good change. It takes me out of my comfort zone, rather than being in the [National] Stadium all the time.”

“It gives me the opportunity as well to show people outside of Dublin what I can do. There will be a lot of people there from Waterford and I’ve still got a good few people coming down – tickets have gone surprisingly well, actually.”

“All the crazy army lads will be down with me as always.”

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)