Anthony Joshua’s future in boxing is still unclear as we await who his next opponent will be. A date of December 17th at Wembley Arena has been suggested, so hopefully it will be somebody that gives him a bit of a test to see what he has left after his two successive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk. Joe Joyce has recently proved that he belongs at world level when he spectacularly knocked out Joseph Parker in the 11th round a few weeks ago. Rumblings of a Joyce vs Joshua fight was briefly mentioned by media outlets but there is virtually no chance of seeing that one before 2022 is out. But with that said, we can still look toward that potentially happening and this is what today’s preview is going to be about.
Both heavyweight boxers are Londoners although Joyce began his professional career rather late. Now 37 years old, it is no secret that he is being fast tracked toward boxing for a heavyweight title of some sort. He is now the mandatory challenger for the WBO crown, one of the belts held by Ukrainian Usyk. The pair have a bit of history after fighting as amateurs in the World Series of Boxing tournament. Usyk nicked a decision. A proper preview of a Joyce vs Usyk fight will be explored further at some point down the road. Many observers predict that Joe’s lack of speed would be a crucial shortcoming. But that has not proved to be so, even at this stage of his career. What he seems to lack in speed he more than makes up for with excellent timing. Equipped with a granite chin, a good jab and applying relentless pressure are all ingredients that will make it difficult for any other heavyweight to overcome. Somebody would have to be up on their toes and try to outbox Joyce for all of 12 rounds. And if you ask any of Joyce’s former opponents so far how hard that is I am sure they would waste no time in saying that it would take someone who is extremely talented to pull that off for 36 minutes.
As a lot of us know, Anthony Joshua won gold at the London 2012 Olympics. He soon turned professional and won his first world title with a quick win over Charles Martin in 2016. After six title defences he unexpectedly lost to Andy Ruiz in 7 rounds after the referee decided that he took enough punishment. That was the Brit’s first fight on American soil. He managed to become a two time champion when he avenged that loss in a rematch in Saudi Arabia but came unstuck again two years later when former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk beat him over 12 rounds. Joshua faced another defeat in a highly publicised rematch and now we await to see who his next opponent will be. Hopefully it will be somebody in the current top 10 but with the way boxing has been running lately, anything is possible. Although Anthony fights a little rigid, he possesses excellent punching power, a good uppercut and jab. He has knocked out opponents late in fights and does not appear to display much of an endurance problem.
Admittedly, it probably does not make much sense to organise a Joyce vs Joshua fight right now given that neither boxer has much to offer the other. If Joshua lost then his career would almost certainly be finished. And if Joe saw his first loss to him then that would jeopardise his championship contender rankings with the organisations.
But who would win?
Well, I think that depends on how well Joyce would be able to take Joshua’s power. If he can then I can see him breaking the Watford boxer down for a late knockout. After taking the power from the likes of the hard hitting Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker I am pretty confident that he could shrug off Joshua’s punches. It would be a good clash of styles where both men would be trying their best to knock the other out and it would be an entertaining heavyweight scrap. But one that would likely be the former two time champion’s last.
