We All know what a Class Wrestling Act BILLY JOYCE was-and also what a Great HEAVYWEIGHT Champion BILLY was although he barely 'managed' to technically
'make' the Weight Bracket!
I have him on Bills as far back as 1942-but for him the undoubted First Hi-Lite of his
Career was Winning the MOUNTEVANS BELT from GORDON NELSON in 1957!
JOYCE Prized this Coveted Title and was determined to hold onto it at all costs!
So when a Defence was Scheduled in 1959 against Former Champion ERNEST
BALDWIN-Everyone including probably the Champion reckoned this would be just
'Routine'!!-It wasn't!- In a Huge Shock BALDWIN Defeated JOYCE for the Belt and in
effect REGAINED the Heavyweight Crown he'd not held for 6 Years!!
Wrestling Fans couldn't believe it!- And JOYCE was not a 'Happy Bunny'!
Below the Match Report!!...
MAIN MASK
It's certainly an interesting telling of the times, leaving out plenty of details. No mention of Mancelli, Dai Sullivan, or Assirati.
November 6, 1959 in Glasgow Baldwin did beat Joyce, but in Ray's files there's no mention of a title or anything. There's no date on the Lime Grove match. What's interesting is around this same time Joyce also dropped the title to Dennis Mitchell. Either these happened one after the other, or the plan was to have two different champions in different towns for a short period of time. Joyce regained the title from Mitchell in July of 1960 in Bradford.