Fresh off his impressive performance against fellow British heavyweight prospect Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce is in an interesting position heading into 2021.
Joyce forced a halt to his eagerly-anticipated battle with Dubois on Nov. 28 after his effective jab put the left eye of "Dynamite" in a bad way, to the stage that Dubois took a knee in Round 10 and was counted out so as to avoid permanent damage.
Victory in the clash of unbeaten rising stars not only solidified Joyce as the British, Commonwealth, WBC Silver and WBO International champions but saw him take Dubois' place at No. 2 in the WBO heavyweight rankings, behind top contender Oleksandr Usyk and reigning champion Anthony Joshua.
There's no guarantee his next fight will be for a world title, though there is a chance. Failing that, however, a familiar face from his past has the perfect idea for the Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist's next step.
David Haye, a British former boxer who unified the cruiserweight division and held the WBA heavyweight title from 2009 until 2011, signed Joyce to his first professional deal one year after the Games with his returning promotion Hayemaker Ringstar. Joyce would sign with Frank Warren's Queensberry before too long, while Haye now primarily manages the career of former rival Dereck Chisora.
He told Sky Sports that Chisora is gearing up for a very busy 2021, and that Joyce is on their shortlist of potential opponents.
"He wants to fight four times in 2021," Haye said of "Del Boy." "He just wants to get going as quickly as possible, and he doesn't care who he fights. As long as they are big fights, meaningful fights, he's good to go.
"That's music to my ears. It makes it very easy for me as a manager to navigate his trajectory to a heavyweight title. That's always the plan.
"The heavyweight division is looking really bright at the moment, it's looking really healthy and Derek Chisora is a part of it, so it's very important who the next couple of fights are."
"Joe Joyce looked great the other night against Daniel Dubois. I'm sure Joyce's team would be salivating at that opportunity. That's a great fight out there."
As fate would have it, the two have come close to fighting before. And the first time it was considered, Haye was very much in the corner of "Juggernaut" Joyce.
Haye is reported to have made two offers to get Chisora to fight Joyce in early 2018: one for around £60,000, the second in the six-figure region. It never came to fruition, however, and Haye now works very closely with the man he knocked out in 2012.
Joyce vs. Chisora does appeal as an all-British scrap, though it appears the circumstances that would move Joyce straight into a world title fight are also very possible.
Usyk is not only ranked No. 1 by the WBO but is their mandatory challenger, with the governing body recently warning that Joshua has used up his requests to postpone that title defence and that only the Ukranian himself can decide not to force him to vacate if he chooses to fight Tyson Fury next.
As the top two ranked contenders, Usyk and Joyce would be the natural fight for the vacant belt if that happens. The two fought in 2013 in World Series of Boxing competition — which involves amateur fighters competing in semi-professional surroundings without headgear — and Usyk won comfortably.
Earlier this week, Joyce made it clear who he'd rather face next out of Usyk and Chisora: