Joe Joyce has revealed a run-in with Anthony Joshua that led to him becoming angered and has said that the incident ‘left a bad taste.’
Joyce is hoping to get back to winning ways this month. He takes on Kash Ali in his first fight since bruising back-to-back defeats to Zilhei Zhang in 2023, both of which came by knockout, and both of which marked the first time Joyce had been hurt, let alone stopped.
Now, speaking to Online Betting Guide, the former Olympian and Team GB man has given an explanation of why he doesn’t have too much affection for Joshua, ahead of his showdown against Francis Ngannou this week.
“Personally I like Ngannou. I’ve spent more time with him recently than I have Joshua. There’s been a bit of needle with Joshua, a bit of back and forth in the press.
“I didn’t enjoy him gloating when he was watching a video of the fight we had in the amateurs. I saw a clip of him watching our fight back with his friends and giggling and laughing at it. It was some footage I saw.
“I’ve not spoken to him for a long time but it left a bitter taste in my mouth. He was my teammate and he supported me through the bad decision I had in Rio and I supported him leading up to the London Olympics because I got in the squad and it was always very competitive with him. I’d love to fight AJ one day.”
Should he win his upcoming fight, and if Joshua comes through against Ngannou this weekend, he may be able to position himself into world title contention and one day get his wish of settling the score with Joshua in the ring.