Heavyweight contender Joe ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce 15-2 (14) is convinced he will have the measure of Kash Ali 21-2 (12) when they square off on the ‘Magnificent Seven’ card at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England on Saturday night.
The 38-year-old Brit is in a rebuilding phase of his career after suffering back-to-back knockout losses to 40-year-old Chinese southpaw Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang 26-2 (21) last year.
Joyce is confident he knows what Ali will be throwing his way when the first bell rings.
“I’ve shared the ring with him and sparred him so I know what he’s got,” Joyce said to Queensberry Promotions. “He’s got some good boxing skills but I don’t think he’s going to be enough for ‘The Juggernaut’ when I come storming in, bashing him up and knocking him out.”
Joyce watched with interest the bout between Zhang and former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker 35-3 (23) on the weekend.
Zhang knocked out Joyce in the sixth round last April and in the third round in their immediate rematch in September.
When Joyce faced 32-year-old Kiwi Parker in September 2022, he knocked him out in the 11th round.
Parker recovered from two knockdown in his fight against Zhang to finish the stronger of the two and win a majority decision.
“It goes both ways,” Joyce said of the fight. “If Zhang had won does that make it make my loss to him better? It’s a difficult one.
“I was definitely rooting for Joe. I’ve known him longer but you can see at the top level of boxing that you never know what’s going to happen. It’s such a risky sport. You think someone’s going to win and the complete opposite happens. That’s why it’s exciting. Heavyweights carry the power and you can see the style matches.
“[Parker] has got a rematch with Zhang first and then maybe we can run it back again. It was a quality fight. A long gruelling fight all the way to the 11th round. I enjoyed it. He’s rebuilt himself and had five good wins.
“You can see my road to rebuilding. First I’ve got Kash Ali on Saturday and then you can see me in loads of other great fights. There are plenty of match ups to be made.”
Joyce, who will have Steve Broughton cornering him for the Ali fight instead of Ismael Salas, says this fight is all about looking forward and not back.
“It’s been difficult but that’s in the past,” he said. “We’re in the present now, which is a present.
“[Ali] is a good fighter like they all are. Heavyweight boxing is unpredictable and it only takes one shot. Every fight is a risky fight but I need to be beating him if I want to go to the next stage and beat the top fighters in the division.
“There will be a time for the new wave of heavyweights to come through but I’ve still got plenty of time. I still haven’t completed my long-term goals in boxing so I need to keep stomping and marching on.”