Tyson Fury, current holder of the WBC Heavyweight title, is keeping a keen eye on the men who might want to take a shot at his throne.
‘The Gypsy King’ is two-time heavyweight champion of the world. On both occasions he won the belts in an opponent’s backyard with the odds against him. He’s unarguably number 1 or number 2 – given there’s an other champion – in the division, but who does he rank just beneath him?
In a weight class packed with plucky upcoming talent and tail-end stalwarts who still seek glory, Fury took to Instagram to give a definitive answer to the best heavyweight on the planet – excluding himself, of course.
“I’ve had a lovely day of watching boxing – watching all the big fights and studying all the heavyweights – and I’ve got to say that big Joy Joyce is the second best heavyweight in the world, behind myself. And on his day, given his moment, who knows if he could beat me or not.”
“One day we’ll have to find out who’s better out of me or him, but at the moment, I’m ruling the roost because I’m World Heavyweight Champion and he’s not, but he’s f**king coming for everybody, don’t you worry about that.”
Tyson Fury gives his verdict on the second best heavyweight in the world today…
[🎥 @Tyson_Fury] pic.twitter.com/5hEWyG0Mnx
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) September 28, 2022
It’s a change from his usual answer. Up until recently, Fury had always picked Deontay Wilder as the second best fighter in the division. Fury beat him twice, but was knocked down a handful of times on the way there.
Perhaps opinions of Joyce are, rightfully, so high just now are because he’s just come out the other side of a tough fight. So often do we see mismatches that it’s hard to gauge how good a fighter really is. What ‘The Juggernaut’ has shown against Joseph Parker, another world-level contender, is that the best way to prove his level was to challenge himself.
Fury said that he had watched the likes of Filip Hrgović and Zhang Zhilei too, but neither came close to Joyce. There was no mention of the other current heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk. The prospect of a Fury – Joyce showdown is an exciting one, especially now that the champion has changed his very recent opinion that the challenger ‘couldn’t hit him with a handful of rice.’
As Joyce rests and recovers for a while, Fury looks to be fighting Mahmoud Charr on December 3 – another name that he didn’t mention when it comes to the best fighters in the division.