Top heavyweight contender Joe Joyce may be recovering from a wrist injury but that hasn’t stopped ‘The Juggernaut’ feeling positive about 2022.
The WBO number one contender will be able to get back to punching in six weeks’ time with a return to the ring looking likely for April.
Joyce (13-0, 12 KOs) managed just the one appearance in 2021 overcoming a valiant effort from durable French-Cameroonian Carlos Takam in July. The sixth-round stoppage finally put a stop to the non-stop effort from Takam who had the occasional moment where an upset looked possible.
“I think it was an ok performance from me and, technique-wise, it was better,” Joyce told Queensbury Promotions. “I feel it was a good performance against Takam, although he landed some good shots that didn’t seem to faze me.
“I found the timing with my jab then landed a good left hook in the sixth. After that I was like ‘okay, I am not going to stop throwing punches until this is stopped’.”
Trained by Ismael Salas, Joyce can now look forward to a likely world title shot thanks to his current standing with WBO. Champion Oleksandr Usyk looks likely to rematch Anthony Joshua before the summer with the winner having to face Joyce in the near future.“I am looking to fight sometime in April and there are some great potential fights for me for this one, which is something to look forward to” he says. “I will be back punching soon in about six weeks, and this will still be a huge year for me.”