For someone who is such a monolith of a man, there are a surprising number of layers to Joe Joyce. At certain points during our half-an-hour conversation, Joe Joyce the unbeaten heavyweight boxer is speaking; at others, it’s Joe Joyce the fine-art student, the swimming instructor, the cheerleader, or the trumpet player.
“When I was a swimming and diving teacher, it was a really great feeling to have someone who was really afraid of the water and to get their head under the water – or have them swimming three, four strokes by the end,” the Londoner tells The Independent. “To have people who have spent their life not being able to swim, and to get them to even put their head under the water in their late sixties and seventies, that’s something I found really rewarding.
