LIVE: Joyce vs Takam on FITE TV – July 24

By Boxing News - 07/23/2021 - Comments

CARLOS TAKAM HAS fired a forthright warning to Joe Joyce ahead of their heavyweight showdown on Saturday night, warning the British Olympian that he intends to put the first dent in his perfect professional record at the SSE Arena, Wembley.

Takam, an LA-based, French-Cameroonian, is a two-time world title challenger with nearly four times as many fights as Joyce under his professional belt.

Image: LIVE: Joyce vs Takam on FITE TV - July 24

He has got the impression that he has been drafted in as a fall guy for Britain’s next big heavyweight hope, with the winner of this fight at the head of the queue to face the winner of Anthony Joshua-Oleksandr Usyk for the WBO world title.

Far from being fodder for the Juggernaut, Takam insists he is in it to win it and plans on inflicting a Wembley upset.

“Hey boy! What’s up, Joyce?” said Takam in a direct message to the Putney man. “I hope you are ready for this fight because I’ve come here to win. On Saturday you won’t beat me, I’m sorry. This is my time. This is Carlos Takam time, and I’m going to beat your guy!

“I will see you on Saturday night, Joe, and I am here to win, not to lose. See you boy, I am ready for the win, definitely.”

The fighting talk from the Frenchman was backed up by Joyce’s promoter Frank Warren, who knows he has imported a top-notch heavyweight to test his man at the highest level.

“He’s a seasoned performer who comes to fight, and you know that his and Joe’s styles will make a fight,” said the Hall of Fame fight maker. “He will come at Joe, and that will suit Joe, I think, and he will have to be at his best, and he will have to do it better than the other guys did like Joshua and Chisora.

“That is how I look at it but, I repeat myself again, he has only had 12 fights, and this is a big step up where a win will see him keep his mandatory position to fight the winner out of Joshua-Usyk taking place in September. I think the fight will be ordered pretty soon after that.

“Joe has been in with tough guys right from the start because of his age, and he has done that, but you can still see there are things he needs to do and work on. I think that Takam will be another good name for his record, and it will be another great experience for Joe.

“They are big guys who will be throwing bombs at each other, and Joe has got a good chin. Takam does come to fight, he throws shots, and I can tell you from talking to his team, they fancy the job.”

After yesterday’s tense press conference that saw a colorful exchange of victory declarations, questions of power and espionage, with only one nights sleep from Joyce-Takam fight night, it was time for the big boys to tilt the scales at the Brent Civic Centre in Wembley. Undefeated heavyweight, JOE JOYCE (12-11KO’s) came in at 268.14 lbs. and heavyweight title contender, CARLOS TAKAM weighed in at a shredded 248.8 lbs.

To no surprise, an intense stare down ensued as the two fighters faced off for the final time. No words were spoken, but their eyes said all that needed to be said – a war is upon us and only one man will have his hand raised with major stakes in the heavyweight division up for grabs.

Tomorrow’s Joyce-Takam fight card can be watched on BT Sport Boxing (7:15 PM GMT +1) and in the USA on FITE.TV (2:15PM ET) Joyce-Takam is promoted by Frank Warren’s Queensberry in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing.

Official weigh-in results below:

JOYCE v TAKAM
Joyce weight: 18st 11lbs 14oz
Takam weight: 17st 10lbs 8oz

SHEERAZ v GURRIA
Sheeraz’s weight: 11st 13lbs 1oz
Gurria’s weight: 10st 13lbs 12oz

JENKINS v ESSUMAN
Jenkins weight: 10st 6lbs 10oz
Essuman weight: 10st 6lbs 6oz

BOURKE v BEECH JR
Bourke’s weight: 8st 9lbs 10oz
Beech Jr’s weight: 8st 10lbs 9oz

NOAKES V ALI
Noakes’ weight: 10st 8lbs 1oz
Ali’s weight: 11st 1lbs 14oz

ADELEYE v MANEV
Adeleye’s weight: 16st 2lbs 12oz
Manev’s weight: 16st 4lbs 12oz

FOX v BARLOW
Fox’s weight: 19st 9lbs 5oz
Barlow’s weight: 16st 9lbs 3oz

BURKE Jr v CUMMINGS
Burke Jr’s weight: 10st 11lbs 4oz
Cummings’ weight: 11st 1lbs

FRANKHAM v JONES
Frankham weight: 9st 5lbs 10oz
Jones’ weight: 9st 5lbs 13oz

SOCZYNSKI V SEN
Soczynski’s weight: 14st 5lbs
Sen’s weight: 14st 9lbs 1lbs

Image: LIVE: Joyce vs Takam on FITE TV - July 24