Undefeated heavyweight contender Joe Joyce is being lined up for a clash against former world title challenger Carlos Takam on July 24.
Joyce impressed with a 10th round dissection of the heavily-hyped Daniel Dubois last November, with the Greenwich man staying down after taking a stiff jab to a fractured left eye socket.
Rio 2016 silver medallist Joyce (12-0, 11 KOs) appeared to have earned a shot at the vacant WBO Interim belt against old amateur rival Oleksandr Usyk with that victory, but when the undisputed heavyweight title clash between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury collapsed, that fight also fell through. Now WBO No.1 contender Usyk will face unified champion Joshua in September and Joyce must explore other avenues.
That appears to be in the form of the seasoned Takam (39-5-1, 28 KOs), who was stopped by Joshua (LTKO10) in a late notice world title challenge in October 2017. Promoter Frank Warren is angling for a rematch with Dubois in 2022 though Joyce’s team may have other ideas.
“The rematch between Joyce and Dubois is huge,” Warren told The Mirror.
“Joe is a quiet man, he does his business in the ring but he does everything — everything — that has been asked of him. He’s silent but deadly.
“Once the AJ and Fury fight is done, assuming they win their respective fights [against Usyk and Deontay Wilder respectively], Joe will be in a great position whereby he is the mandatory and will fight the winner.
“Having said that, he has to win his fight against Takam and we want to keep him busy, so he’s out on July 24 and we go from there. But he has a tremendous pedigree and he knows he can’t afford to slip up if he wants his seat at the top table.”
Featured image: (L) Queensberry Promotions (R) Matchroom Boxing