Interim WBO heavyweight champion Briton Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) plans to fight for a full-fledged championship belt next summer. His priority is the duel with the winner of the fight for the title of absolute world champion between compatriot Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) and Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs).
“I’m planning to get in the ring first in March, as all the other tops will have their fights,” Joyce explains. – And for the summer I need a really big fight. Like Usyk or Fury. This is exactly why I need a fight at the beginning of the year – so as not to stagnate, to be active.
Joyce doesn’t understand “why so many fighters just sit around and wait for the big fight. And then, when this chance comes, they lose and begin to justify the defeat with a long downtime. It is clear that without fighting you are covered with rust. I’m not talking about the fact that without fights it is unrealistic to improve, progress, reach a new level, correct mistakes. But, apparently, some people value their zero in the column of defeats too much.
At the beginning of the month, WBC champion Fury beat challenger Derek Chisora, after which he called his potential opponents Usyk and Joyce into the ring. Joe recalls it with a smile: “It was fun. I really got excited about what happened. Fury started to wind up, I started up too. And Usyk just stood there and stared at him.”
Have you heard how much Fury and Chisora have sold pay-per-view? There is an insider from Hearn. The WBC champion shared his plans: “I want to knock out Usyk quickly, he can’t stand Chisora anymore.”