With a world title shot seemingly in waiting this year, Joe Joyce has revealed which of the current champions he would rather get a crack at.
In an interview with ID Boxing, Joyce stated his preference would be for an all British clash with Tyson Fury – especially if Fury has all four belts by then.
“Ideally I’d like to fight Fury next, especially if he wins [against Usyk]. For an undisputed fight, that’d be crazy.”
“I know Usyk doesn’t really want to fight me either – he says I’m like a tank. We’re just going to have to see what happens, the heavyweight landscape can be quite volatile at times.”
“I’m just going to get a fight going in March then onto a big one in the summer, hopefully against one of these guys.”
Talks for Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk are believed to be progressing well for a spring showdown, following which Joyce’s name will be right at the top of the list of challengers in waiting.
‘The Juggernaut’ was ringside for Fury’s win over Derek Chisora last month, and gatecrashed a post fight face off between the WBC world champion and Usyk, who was also in attendance.
Both Joyce and Fury are signed to Frank Warren’s Queensberry promotions, so the fight, in principle, should be a relatively easy one to make.
‘The Gypsy King’ will feel he has a score to settle with Joyce, after his teammate and friend Joseph Parker suffered a hellacious beating at the hands of the Team GB standout that culminated in a brutal 11th round knockout at the Manchester Arena in September.
That victory earned Joyce the WBO Interim title and announced him as a serious contender in the blue ribbon division.