Joe Joyce, one of the leading contenders in the heavyweight division, is adamant that Anthony Joshua would not last the distance in a fight with him.
Joyce was unimpressed with Joshua’s effort against Jermaine Franklin last weekend, a 12-round bout that the former champion won by unanimous decision.
“I’d knock both of them out with their performance the other night. I’d definitely force a stoppage on Franklin and Joshua’s ripe for the picking,” Joyce told Sky Sports.
- Devin Haney vows to be pound-for-pound king – ‘I’ll dismantle Vasiliy Lomachenko!’
- Lawrence Okolie vows to ‘stamp out’ Chris Billam-Smith’s fairy-tale homecoming
- Shane McGuigan preparing Chris Billam-Smith to beat ‘best on the planet’ Lawrence Okolie
Image: Joe Joyce is a formidable opponent for any heavyweight in the world (Photo: PA)
“Not great but [Joshua] got the job done. He went 12 rounds, I thought he would come with some more firepower and aim to push a stoppage but he wasn’t really putting shots together. He was [using] single shots and boxed kind of like he did in the [Andy] Ruiz second fight. So it was a little bit disappointing.
“He seems to have gone, in my opinion, a bit backwards. Hasn’t progressed. I think he lacked the combinations but I think Franklin was a tough guy.”
Trending
- Chelsea to appoint Lampard as caretaker manager
- Papers: Chelsea considering talks with former boss Conte
- Transfer Centre LIVE! ‘Lampard return perfect’ | ‘It’s desperate’ – your views
- ‘Verstappen-Hamilton rivalry has completely flipped’
- Hoge wins Par-3 contest at The Masters after Power’s back-to-back aces
- PL hits and misses: Man Utd wake up; Newcastle back in business
- Joyce: Joshua’s ripe for the picking
- Moyes: Board still back me | Rice: We let in schoolboy goals
- Burrell: No one from Newcastle reached out | ‘I went through dark period’
- Podence charged by FA for alleged spit at Johnson
- Video
- Latest News
Joyce thinks that Joshua should be clamouring to fight him. Putney’s Joyce is highly ranked and will be the mandatory for the WBO world champion. He already holds a WBO Interim heavyweight title.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Dillian Whyte says he believes a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will not happen insisting he is ready to face either opponent
“That would be his route back in,” Joyce said.
Also See:
“It would definitely be his way back in because I’m in front of him now, at last, high up the rankings and obviously got the WBO Interim.
“I was always trying to catch up with him but now I’ve overtaken him, so that’s good. That’s what I wanted. But I haven’t caught up to him financially yet so I need to have those big fights!”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Dillian Whyte says Anthony Joshua’s performance ‘was not spectacular’ despite returning to winning ways with a unanimous points victory against Jermaine Franklin
Joyce however does expect Joshua to go in another direction and target a potential rematch with Dillian Whyte.
“I’m a threat and he would prefer that [Whyte fight] until he’s got his mojo back,” Joyce said.
“I’d like to see him against Dillian Whyte, because I think Dillian Whyte’s in the same situation. He didn’t really look too great in the last fight,” he acknowledged.
“So it would be good to see who the better man is and obviously they’ve got past bad blood. I think the fans would get behind that fight. It would be a good fight.”
Sourse: skysports.com
