Former sparring partner of the unified heavyweight champion (over 90.7 kg) from Ukraine Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) British David Allen gave
interview for a local boxing blog.
In a conversation with the presenter, David expressed his opinion about the “interim” WBO champion from Britain, Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs). Allen, guided by the experience gained in sparring, believes that Joyce will stop Usyk, has a good chance of defeating the WBC champion British Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs), but will lose to ex-champions American Deontay Wilder (42-2 -1, 41 KOs) and Briton Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs).
“I think stylistically Joyce is a nightmare for Usyk. People say he beat him before, but I sparred with Joyce in 2012. Then he performed well. And the last time I sparred with him was in 2017 and he was fucking great. If you look at the fight between Joshua and Usyk, Usyk suffered with Joshua, with his size. And Joyce is much bigger and stronger than Joshua. Stylistically, he will simply move Usyk. He’s not interested in boxing a southpaw, he’ll just stomp on him. I think he will beat Usyk. He’s too strong for him. He will stop him.”
“Fury will be a test because he will have to be boxed. With Fury, he can box 12 rounds.”
“Wilder and Joshua, I think they will still beat Joyce. It will be too hard for him. Parker is not such a big puncher, and if Wilder or Joshua hit him on the chin, he won’t be able to hold, he’ll be knocked out.”
- Wilder hopes for Usyk’s word
“In fact, I give him more chances to beat Usyk and Fury than Joshua and Wilder, which sounds crazy. But after going through so many fights in boxing, I will say that it is true. This is true. I give him more chances to beat Fury and Usyk than Joshua and Wilder based purely on style.”
“Joe Joyce is the strongest fighter I’ve sparred with. His physical strength – well, fuck him! Really strong. I was strong, but he – well, fuck him!
“Joyce sparred with Anthony Joshua once and scared the shit out of him. Shugal. He didn’t even touch him. They just danced in the ring around each other.”
“I think Joyce is a great fighter. It won’t surprise me if he becomes world champion when the opportunity presents itself.”