By Elliot Foster

Joe Joyce added to his flawless ledger and claimed a title in the process.

The 33-year-old Putney man dropped and stopped Joe Hanks inside a round.

Joyce made it seven from seven at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, exclusively live on BT Sport Box Office in the UK and Showtime Pay-Per-View Stateside.

And the Richard Shaefer-promoted man, an Olympic silver medallist and former Commonwealth champion, dispatched of the New Jersey native, as part of the supporting cast to Deontay Wilder’s WBC heavyweight world title defence against Tyson Fury.

Joyce, who weighed in at the heaviest of his professional career to date, claimed the vacant WBA Continental title with the win and is looking to move on to the upper echelons of the divisions sooner rather than later

Hanks, who slipped to 23-3 (15 KOs) in defeat, was outclassed thoroughly by Joyce, who was given the victory after two minutes and 25 seconds of the opener.

“I’ve been doing well and there’s plenty more to come. All the support from back home in England, thanks for coming, and I hope I brought something good to watch,” Joyce said afterwards.

“I’m ready for anyone and I want to get into some bigger fights. I’m getting people out quickly, I’ve got a lot of experience, but I’ve just got to improve on my strength and speed and I’m ready to show everyone what I can do.”

It was the second win in the United States for Joyce, who also picked up the vacant WBA Continental heavyweight title. “I’m getting people out quickly,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of experience, I’m just going to improve on my strength and my speed. I’ve heard comments that I’m slow but I seem to land the shots and get the job done.”