Unbeaten heavyweight Joe Joyce said on social media that he’s ready to fight former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua if a bout between Joshua and WBC champion Tyson Fury doesn’t come together.
Joe Joyce: “If Fury and AJ aren’t fighting then I’ll step in. December 3rd is tight for me @Tyson_Fury, but @EddieHearn you can give your new best mate @frankwarren_tv a call and I’ll take the 17th slot with AJ. Easy fight to make!”
Well isn’t that interesting?? Might look pretty bad for AJ if he does fight in December against someone not Fury or Joyce now.
You would think a fight against Fury or Joyce (who are both big men) would excite AJ?
I agree with you, if Joshua avoids BOTH of these opponents (who are both domestic UK rivals) it will not be a good look. I only hope that AJ responds back sooner rather than later.
Less money with Joyce even though AJ takes the lions share. Much easier fight for him as well / less pressure. Issue is timing – venue available in December? That was Fury’s schedule. Can take fight in Feb when he’s rested. Would make more sense
Two big guys and neither one is a monstrous one punch kind of a fighter, both can be hit. They’re two winnable fights for AJ in my opinion and of course they’d both pay well.
If he needs longer, then fine, but after the second Usyk fight, they said they’d be looking to get back in December. Here’re two gorgeous fights for December! You gotta take one of them!
I remember Warren blaming Joshua’s strange behavior after the Usyk rematch on the pressure he’s constantly been under for the last few years……every fight being a major fight, a few in large stadiums, etc.. Thought they might take a dud fight ….like a Christian Hammer type…just to regroup and get a little confidence back. Don’t see him passing up both Fury and Joyce though. The money would be too much to turn down for either of these. I’d love to see either match-up, but….and I can’t believe I’m saying this….but Joshua-Joyce is the one I’d rather see. Didn’t think much of Joyce early on in his career, but he does seem durable and seems to have heavy hands. Good output for a big guy as well. If I’m Joshua’s manager though, I’d take the enormous payday that would certainly come with a Fury fight.
From an excitement point of view, sure – Joyce is probably the better fight. But, like you said USF, if I were AJ, Joyce wouldn’t even be in the conversation. If I am actually taking a dangerous fight and not fighting Hammer or… Dinu, someone like that, then I’m taking the pot of gold that comes with it!
Joshua will be 33 in a few days, great age for a heavyweight, he’s a recent former 2x unified world champion and a former Olympic gold medalist. He knows what happens if he fights that lower level guy. He already has the confidence that comes with knowing that he can have his way with them – it isn’t like Dubois after he lost to Joyce. So, just in my opinion, you take the giant fight, you make that big moment and, even if you do lose (at least to Fury), you really haven’t lost much at all.
Agreed Lucie. If Fury and his team are handing you the winning lottery ticket, which is literally about what that amounts to, you take it without hesitation. If Joshua takes the Joyce fight and loses, maybe the Fury fight never happens. Can’t think of a bigger possible payday for Joshua than Fury would bring.
Both these guys probably beat Joshua and Joyce would probably win by late stoppage. The pace would be too much for Joshua unless Joyce’s chin decides to give up. Joshua needs to ignore both guys and fight a few easy fights against guys with no power, low work rate but a good chin. Joshua is going to need to be able to go rounds if he does end up fighting Fury or Joyce in the future.
These modern fighters are too spoiled…3 1/2 months after a fight against Usyk with no major injuries is enough time to fight someone who is calling you out, and for a good payday. Imagine Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Carmen Basilio, Tony Zale, Archie Moore, guys from that era talking about they need more time.
The problem for those fighter back then was that the promoters used to take the big lion share and the small mouse peanuts for them, and fighting almost weekly was the only way to earn enough money. What about now? From the human point of view, boxers have better life after boxing now with more time for preparation and balanced diet for their fights, with one nice purse per fight instead of 10 or more fights for almost nothing. Sugar Ray Robinson , fought 199 times, and how he end it up? Today a fighter like him could have made 100 times more money and probably might have need it around 25% of those fights, kind of 50 fights, retiring healthy and rich like many of today.
100%
At this stage AJ would get dominated by Joyce, possibly stopped, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to take this fight. Take the TF fight which will be his biggest purse to date and see what happens.
Uh-Oh, Joyce just put the screws to AJ. This will be a bad look for Joshua if he turns this fight down, being that the juggernaut just accepted his original fight date of December 17th.
Then a modern day Sugar Ray Robinson would have made 1000 times the amount he did, cause he was built different then these milenelials and generation z’s.
AJ has more of a chance against Joyce, Fury will box circles around him. Joyce will probably still knock him out too though. Bit more power than the cruiserweight
Tyson Fury couldn’t box circles around 6’2 180 pound Steve Cunnigham. Fury is a horrible boxer. Joshua is just worse.
Come on that fight was like 10 years ago. That’s like saying Canelo can’t take a punch because he got hurt by Cotto’s brother when he was 19. Fury is a much improved fighter from then.
Fury was undermotivated around that time. He was (back in the day) dropped by a Euro journeyman and won a very debatable decision vs John Mcdermott.
His 1st test was against Chisora in a fight where many thought DC would win and he schooled him. Fury is a guy who is beatable as much from his own complacency as anything else.
That isn’t really how that works. Tyson Fury was almost knocked out by light punching 180 pound Cruiserweight Steve Cunnigham but Tyson Fury was never knocked down against the washed up Wladimir Klitschko. So does that mean Cunnigham punched harder than Wlad?
Nearly knocked out?
Sounds like you’ve never watched this fight.
Hearn advises AJ to wait for a better offer, I say AJ needs a better promoter.
It appears Joshua [ momentarily ] wants no parts of Fury. As in the case with Spence [ momentarily ] wants no parts of Crawford. These contracts are as easy as Fury [ Top Rank ] v. Wilder [ PBC ] when the fighters command their team to ‘make the fight.’ This is Paris Hilton-esque [ from Joshua and Spence ]. I was raised boxing in the Petronelli AC, Brockton MA USA. Where no amateur or professional ever ignored, duck or no show an opponent. It took Mayweather 6 L O N G years to eventually fight Pacquiao and held excessively beyond disqualification standards thereof. Fighters today behave with social media bravado, that in-ring gladiatorial. ©️Coach Hilario 2022
Harry Sachs, its like this; lighter guys generate more speed and can catch a bigger guy with something he may not see coming, and those are the punches that get you. I fought in the amateur’s at 165 lbs and sparred guys from 130 lbs to heavyweight and the two punches I felt the most were from a 130 lb. pro and a 135 lb. pro due to the snap of the punch.
Won’t see either in December. Or maybe ever
Won’t see either in December. Or maybe ever
I do like that Joyce is trying to stay pretty active, which is more than I can say for Fury, Wilder, and Joshua. I wouldn’t mind seeing he and AJ square off. They both have much to fight for.