Joe Joyce is back in the win column following two back-to-back stoppage losses at the hands of Zhilei Zhang, and as he gets set to take on Derek Chisora this weekend at the O2 Arena, Joyce tells Sky Sports that believes he’s hot on the comeback trail with bigger fights to come.
“I’m still top 10,” the 38-year-old Joyce told Sky Sports. “The options are very good. There are plenty of fights out there for me. There are opponents that I can rematch.
“There’s still loads of opponents for me and I’m still yet to get a full world title, be a heavyweight world champ. I need to tick that off the bucket list.”
Joyce, who was once an interim titleholder, believes that perhaps with a bit more luck in the past he might’ve been elevated to a full champion like Daniel Dubois was, but that everyone just isn’t afforded the same opportunities.
In that sense Joyce says he’s taking a harder road than some, but that combined with the pressure will only make the end result that much more fruitful for him. Should Joyce beat Chisora this weekend, Joseph Parker presents a good rematch option so he says, but that he’d also be willing to step in against the likes of Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury or even Oleksandr Usyk.
As Joyce tells it, he’s only still in the sport of boxing to capture that elusive world champion distinction, and he firmly believes he’s still a live dog to get there in the end.