Joe Joyce wants to fight WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight ruler Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk wants to fight Tyson Fury in a four-belt unification showdown; that or maybe even go back down to cruiserweight. So what does Joyce, the WBO interim champion courtesy of his impressive knockout win over Joe Joyce, do if he cannot get Usyk?
Speaking with Metro.co.uk, “The Juggernaut” said he does believe Usyk will vacate the WBO heavyweight title rather than face him, and that he will then be elevated to full champion; in which case Joyce says he could fight Daniel Dubois in a return fight.
“Ideally, I would like to fight Usyk,” Joyce told the paper. “But it seems he is now looking elsewhere, considering moving back to cruiserweight or wanting to fight Fury but it doesn’t look like that is on the table at the moment. Usyk could vacate and then I would be elevated. I think he’s probably going to vacate. He doesn’t want that smoke. He has also been at it a long time. Hundreds of amateur bouts over the years and he will have earned very decent money for his last two fights. I don’t know, does he really want to take on The Juggernaut?”
Joyce is deserving of a shot at the world title, be it the WBO belt or one of the other titles. A fight between Fury and Joyce has been mentioned, and recently Fury, as per Frank Warren, listed Joyce on a three-fight wish-list that also had Derek Chisora and Usyk on it. But for now, Joyce is playing the waiting game, seeing how the pieces fall into place. It could be that Joyce gets that return fight with Dubois next. Joyce stopped an unbeaten Dubois a couple of years ago, but “Dynamite” has come back pretty well from his first pro loss, picking up a lightly regarded version of the WBA heavyweight title.
Joyce, 15-0(14) says this fight will always be talked about and that it could happen. However, Joyce seems to be on a different level to Dubois and the 37 year old wants his big chance.
“But I don’t know what happens in boxing anymore,” Joyce said. “Fury changes his mind all the time, Usyk has a lot of options. But we will get there eventually. All I can do is keep calling people out and be patient.”
But how long has Joyce got left at age 37? Is Joyce too dangerous a proposition for a number of elite heavyweights?