There are a number of big heavyweight fights that could, possibly, maybe, hopefully, take place next year. Chief among these is a champ-against-champ showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. But Fury – who may or may not need elbow surgery before he can fight again – has said he could fight countryman Joe Joyce next, this if a fight with Usyk cannot be made “for whatever reason.”
A Fury-Joyce clash would of course, be a huge fight, in the UK in particular, and it would likely sell out a stadium. But Fury, who we all know has a lot to say a lot of the time (see all the time), has joined the growing number of people who are turned on, in a major way, at the idea of seeing “Juggernaut” Joyce get it on with “Bronze Bomber” Deontay Wilder.
If you could cast a wish-list in terms of potential 2023 heavyweight scraps, chances are a Wilder-Joyce fight would emerge at or near the top of such a list. Just think about the match-up: genuinely brutal punching power against a genuine rock of a chin, speed against non-stop advancement, heart against heart, 37-year-old Vs. 37-year-old, aggressive tendencies against aggressive tendencies.
There is no doubt about it, this heavyweight battle – and it would be a very real and very fierce battle for however long it lasted – has been capturing, and is capturing the imagination of fight fans the world over. And you can add WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury to the list.
Fury has said that if things turn out a certain way, Joyce and Wilder could get it on next.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who can take Deontay Wilder’s power,” Fury said. “[But] Joyce is a juggernaut. That’s a fight I’d love to see. If I fight Usyk, maybe Joyce can fight Wilder. Who here wouldn’t want to see that? Who wouldn’t want to see the world’s toughest man take on the world’s biggest puncher? That would be fantastic.”
It would indeed. And again, a Wilder-Joyce shoot-out/slugfest/fight to the finish is firmly at the top of the list of demanded fights. Will it happen? We can but hope. Joyce seems to be willing to fight just about anyone, while it has been said by some that no-one but Tyson Fury can possibly take Wilder’s crippling power.
Talk about a fight that nobody could predict. Here’s an (admittedly quite obvious) tag-line for any posters that could be made if the fight is made: ‘Unstoppable force Vs. Immovable Object.’
Which wins?
Has Wilder got enough genuinely scary punching power to be able to crack Joyce’s genuinely scary chin and his ability to hold a shot?