Joe Joyce has admitted that he was ‘triggered’ by his back and forth with Anthony Joshua earlier this year.
As the pair were trading trash talk online, ‘AJ’ brought up his 2011 amateur victory over Joyce. ‘The Juggernaut’, whose last outing was a stellar win over Joseph Parker, told Sky Sports that his domestic rival’s trip down memory lane didn’t sit well.
“He was gloating. That’s what kind of triggered me.”
Joyce was out manoeuvred by ‘AJ’ in the scrap before they both turned professional, but he says that it was due to it being his second fight of the day and that this first opponent was fighting southpaw.
“When I fought Joshua I still had the southpaw mindset so I was walking on to his right hand and got three counts in the first round. We can right them wrongs in the pros. They [the referees] are not going to jump in prematurely in the pros. I won’t have to fight twice, I’ll fight once and beat him!”
Both men have come a long way since, so the clash over a decade ago will hold little weight for fans. For his part, Joyce wants to do it all again – but he’s not sure that the former world champion feels the same.
“I haven’t overtaken him yet because I’m not heavyweight champion yet, I haven’t earned the cash that he’s earned!
“He never mentions my name for some reason. I don’t know if he’s going to want to take it but maybe the public’s going to call for it, the fans are going to call for it eventually and get it made. Joshua’s still very marketable and sells out stadiums.
“I’m getting to that level now so it would be good to have a showdown in London, north versus south.”
With an undisputed fight on the horizon for both belt holders in the division – Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury – and a potential rematch thereafter, big names like Joyce and Joshua may have no choice but to mix it with each other in the mean time.