By Barry Holbrook: Joe Joyce says he’s ready to challenge for a world title next if the opportunity presents itself against WBC champion Tyson Fury or the winner of the August 20th rematch between Anthony Joshua and IBF/WBA/WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk.
Joyce (14-0, 13 KOs) is ranked #1 WBO, #2 WBC, and he understands that he’s likely to need to wait until the undisputed match gets done first between Fury and the Joshua-Usyk 2 winner, but if they give him a shot at one or more of those belts before they fight, he’ll gladly accept it.
Assuming that Fury and the Joshua vs. Usyk II victor do fight it out this year for the undisputed, Joyce will fight for the belts next year. As the WBO mandatory, Joyce is guaranteed a shot at that title.
They can vacate it if they don’t wish to face Joyce, but they’d be walking away from an excellent fight.
“I’ll have all of them. Obviously, there’s a couple of fights that need to happen with the undisputed, but them titles are available for me to capture early next year,” said Joe Joyce to talkSPORT Boxing.
“I’m ready now. If the opportunity comes about, then I’m ready,” Joyce said when asked if he believes he could fight for a world title now if he had the chance against Fury or the winner of Usyk and Joshua.
Joyce will only get a chance to fight for the belts this year if Fury chooses not to take on the winner of the Usyk vs. Joshua II match. That’s certainly possible, especially if Usyk defeats Joshua.
“I can raise my game and fight against whoever. I’ve had enough experience now to know I’m ready,” said Joyce.
“I’m at the top of the rankings, edging closer like in the overall rankings. In just a couple of more fights, I’ll be heavyweight champion of the world, I believe,” said Joyce.
“I felt good, but I wasn’t 100%,” said Joyce when asked how he felt physically against Hammer after being out of the ring for an entire year since July 2021.
“I can always do better, especially taking those shots early on. I think can work on. When you fight more regularly, you make less mistakes. So yeah, it was an exciting fight. I enjoyed it. It’s good to be back in the ring again.
“Yeah, it showed that I can take those shots and keep throwing punches. I can throw a lot of punches and do the rounds as well,” said Joyce when asked if him taking so many shots from Hammer proved that he could take the punches from the heavy hitters in the division.
“I still have a few years left at a good level. I’m at the peak right now, but I’m still learning. I’ve not got many miles on the clock, and I’ve got another three good years or more,” said Joyce.
