Joe Joyce says negotiations are going smoothly for a fight between him and former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for a match that will be taking place in April for the interim WBO heavyweight title.
The Joyce vs. Usyk match winner will quickly be elevated to the full WBO heavyweight champion shortly after Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury match in June.
The 6’6″ Joyce (12-0, 11 KOs) says he’s going to be working hard in training camp to cut off the ring on the southpaw Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs), who he figures will be using movement to get the better of him.
Usyk, 33, defeated Joyce eight years ago in the World Series of Boxing in winning a five-round unanimous decision. Joyce admits that he’s gotten stronger since then, and he’ll be better equipped to knockout Usyk this time with the smaller pro gloves.
Also, Joyce will have a lot of time to focus just on training for Usyk’s highly mobile style, something he didn’t have when he fought him eight years ago.
Usyk vs. Joyce in April
“Yes, it’s going as planned so it seems,” said Joe Joyce to BT Sport Boxing about him and Usyk in negotiations. “When those two big guys, the winner will get the WBO.
“Yep, that’s the plan,” Joyce said about him expecting to beat Usyk to win the WBO. “It’s looking like April.
“The negotiations seem to be going well, and it looks like the fight is going nicely and it’s almost confirmed.
“I can’t wait. Back in the gym, getting ready,” said Joyce about his fight with Usyk. “I think I’m going to go for the knockout, the stoppage. I’m going to stop his feet. He’s not going to.
“I’m going to have to be smart and switched on not to take too many shots back. I want to stop his feet by any means necessary but also listen to my corner and all the things I’ve been doing inside the gym.
“Do all the hard work in the gym so it’s easy by the time I get to the fight,” said Joyce.
Dealing with Usyk’s movement will be a major piece of work for the 260+ lb Joyce, as he’s not as fast on his feet or in the hand speed department.
Usyk will be the favorite going into the match, but Joyce isn’t too worried about that. He was the underdog for his recent match against Daniel Dubois last November, and he was able to stop him in the tenth round.
Joyce says Usyk won’t like the punishment
“Yeah, I’ve learned a lot since then, and he’s bulked up in size a bit,” said Joyce about his 2013 fight against Usyk.
“Maybe he lost a little speed, so I’ve kind of caught up with him, and I hope to take over him in this next fight.
I got a lot of experience in the WSB. Yeah, I hadn’t really fought a southpaw as good [as Usyk].
It was a really tough fight. It was a good learning fight for me as well because his skills were next level.
This whole camp will be focused on fighting him, so I’ll be getting the sparring and the tactics.
I’ll be working on stuff just for him. Also, the pro gloves and the power shots that I’ve picked up over the years. I’ll have the power to stop him.
I just need to catch up to him, cut off the ring on him, and don’t let him move around too much and take it away from him.
He’s going to be a tough person to catch to land a shot, but very skillful. Hit him on the nose, the body, the head.
He’s not going to like it. I guess that’s my style and I’m called ‘The Juggernaut,'” said Joyce when reminded about how he was walking through Daniel Dubois’ shots the entire night.
Usyk will definitely struggle with the power and the punishment that he’ll be taking from ‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce in this fight.
The Ukrainian fighter had a lot of trouble beating Dereck Chisora by a close 12 round decision last October. If not for Chisora fading late in the contest, he would have beaten Usyk.
Joyce’s jab figures to be a major weapon for him to use against Usyk, as it’s going to be difficult to hit him with headshots.
In their fight in 2013, Joyce missed many of his shots, and Usyk was able to work him over with his combination punching. But it was only five rounds, and there was a lot of fight left if it had been a 12-rounder.
Joyce has packed on 30 pounds of muscle now, and his power is more formidable now than when he fought Usyk the first time.
The jab that Joyce has added to his arsenal makes him a much different fighter than when the two met years ago.
This fight will be a marathon instead of a sprint like the first contest eight years ago. For Usyk, he’s going to need to work on his power before April if he wants to keep Joyce off of him.
Usyk will be on his bike
“That’s not the only thing I’ve got. I keep improving myself the best I can,” Joyce said. Work on my weaknesses really. You can’t rely on the heaviness of your hands or your power.
“There’s a lot more to fights and fighters where sometimes you might not be able to hit a person. Say you’re fighting Usyk.
“Would you be able to hit him? Because Usyk is on his bike, on his feet, southpaw, he’s awkward.
“You’ve got to be able to have a wide spectrum where you’re able to adapt to different situations.
“I think he made the smart move in ending the day,” said Joyce about Daniel Dubois.
“He definitely saved his career because one more shot like that and he wouldn’t have been able to see and have damage beyond repair and wouldn’t be able to box again.
He lived to fight another day. But even if he carried on, there’s slim chance that he would have beaten me,” said Joyce about Dubois saving his career by quitting on a knee.
Joyce needs to be conscious not to get hit as much this time around, as Usyk was able to impress the judges with his higher punch output.
Although Joyce was landing the bigger shots, Usyk was hitting him repeatedly with annoying punches that were a lot weaker. The amateur style that Usyk used against Joyce proved to be effective for him winning a points decision.
Dubois will come again
“I knew then the was nothing he could do to beat me,” Joyce said of Dubois.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jJe8ccw4cA
“He wouldn’t have been able to stay in me if I picked up the pace because he was only able to handle it for 30 seconds, and then he blew a gasket.
“He did that in the third round, blew a gasket, and I could hear him breathing throughout the whole fight, mouth-breathing as well.
“But he can come again, go back to the drawing board and work on all his mistakes and weaknesses and pick them up and bring himself back to the next level and go back in.
“He can pick it back up in the levels until he gets a rematch with Gorman again or someone like that.
“If I were to end his career on that night, I would have hated that to happen,” said Joyce about Dubois.
It’s going to take a while yet for Dubois to come back from his eye injury. Only time will tell with that injury, and hopefully, he resumes his career.
Dubois is still young enough to be a future world champion and the guy to take over after Joyce, Anthony Joshua, and Tyson Fury retire. Dubois needs to work on his head movement because he gets hit way too much.