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Joe Joyce has described his bout with Joseph Parker on September 24 as a 'warm-up' fight for a world title shot in the future.
Joyce and Parker will clash at the Manchester Arena in a WBO final eliminator where the winner could become mandatory to face Oleksandr Usyk next.
Both fighters are coming off impressive victories and are ranked in the top ten by Ring Magazine. Parker beat Derek Chisora via a 12-round unanimous decision last December, whereas Joyce is coming off a fourth-round stoppage win over Christian Hammer.
Regardless, 'Juggernaut' appeared dismissive of Parker and is already focused on a potential fight with Usyk. The Brit said the following in an interview with iFL TV:
"That's a big warm up. It's a big fight but the fights that follow after that. It depends if Fury [Tyson] is gonna fight Usyk or not. But I'm there to fight Usyk when that mandatory becomes available."
Watch the full interview:
Since turning professional, Joyce has not put a foot wrong. The Olympic silver medallist is unbeaten and registered a notable win over Daniel Dubois back in 2020. However, there are many who believe his upcoming bout with Parker will be a genuine 50-50 contest.
Joe Joyce explains how he would defeat Oleksandr Usyk
Joe Joyce continued by going into detail on how he would approach a fight with Usyk. The Brit also reflected on battling the Ukrainian as an amateur and Anthony Joshua's recent performance against Usyk:
"What worked for me in the first fight was I threw a lot of shots. I was landing with a load and I could do that the whole way through the fight... Joshua has got more power in his punches but then he throws less of them. I have a lot more and a bigger engine and a bigger chin... So it'd be more exciting."
Joshua lost to Usyk last Saturday in Jeddah via split decision. Regardless, 'AJ' produced a better performance than in the first fight with Usyk, hurting the Ukrainian badly in the ninth round. Unfortunately, Joshua did not have enough stamina for the championship rounds which ultimately cost him the decision.
Watch the fight highlights of Usyk vs. Joshua 2:
Joyce rightfully acknowledges that he doesn't possess the same punching power as 'AJ'. However, 'Juggernaut' is more capable of sustaining a high tempo over 12 rounds. Therefore, it is arguable that he could give Usyk a tougher fight.
