Joe Joyce, the interim WBO heavyweight champion, who will risk his belt along with his ranking this Saturday night against “Big Bang” Zhilei Zhang, is angry over the way Daniel Dubois is ahead of him when it comes to getting a shot at WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk.
And, seeing how “The Juggernaut” rolled over Dubois when they fought in 2020, it’s not hard to see why Joyce is annoyed. Speaking with Sky Sports, the unbeaten Joyce said he can only stay patient and keep on winning. Joyce said he hankers for the good old days, when “all the heavyweights got in there” and fought one another.
“It is annoying. It’s really annoying that Dubois is ahead in the queue, and [Filip] Hrgovic as well,” Joyce said. “It’s out of my control and unfortunate. But fortunate for Dubois to come off a devastating loss [to me] and then be before me in the selection for the [shot at Usyk]. Only in boxing would this stuff happen. Nothing really surprises me. I’m just patient and I’ll get my shot. If I just keep on beating these guys then I’ll get the world title. There are plenty of good fights out there. I think all the heavyweights should fight each other like the old days.”
In terms of the most deserving contender out there right now, plenty of fans would point to Joyce as far as the heavyweight title goes. Joyce seems to be one of the last old-school heavyweights, a man who is willing to fight anyone in order to earn his shot. Saturday’s fight with southpaw Zhang is a risky fight Joyce could very easily have swerved. But no, the 37 year old fears no man and he is proving it one fight at a time.
If Joyce, currently 15-0(14), does a good job on Zhang, you can pretty much forget the rankings and the politics; the fans will be demanding that Joyce gets his shot. Whether it’s against Usyk or Tyson Fury, Joyce is knocking on that door for a world title opportunity. In fact, Joyce is close to kicking the door clean off its hinges.
“I’m hungry for the world title right now,” Joyce said. Yet here he is, putting it all on the line on Saturday against the big guy from China. How can anyone not like Joyce and his attitude and self-belief?