Joe Joyce is finishing his first world heavyweight belt stroke and could face winners Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua this year or next year.
The Ukrainian defended his WBA, IBF and WBO titles for the first time on August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 11 months since the night he beat Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joyce will end his 12-month absence from the ring tomorrow night when he faces Christian Hammer, and a win will cement his position as the WBO’s number one contender. Andi Purewal of Boxing Social caught up with ‘The Juggernaut’ after yesterday’s final press conference and asked him about his Usyk-Joshua 2 prediction.
“It was a fascinating fight. It would be nice if AJ beat him but it’s a big question because Usyk is such a skillful fighter, he seems to be in good form. Joshua is clearly making an adjustment with [Robert] Garcia and hope he can use it and what he learned in [first] Fight. It will be interesting to see which way it goes. Whether it will be repeat or revenge.
“I’d say maybe Usyk will win again but I’m not taking out AJ because he has a puncher’s chance and he can punch.”
