Joe Joyce believes that Tyson Fury’s aggression will see him beat Anthony Joshua when the pair meet later this year.
The 35-year-old heavyweight has sparred with both Joshua and Fury over the course of his career and thinks that WBC champion Fury has a slight advantage.
There is a chance that Joyce will meet the winner of Fury vs. Joshua if he beats Oleksandr Usyk in a proposed eliminator to be the WBO mandatory fighter, and perhaps the outright champion if Joshua ends up vacating the title.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, Joyce explained: “I’m going with Fury because of his performances and the way he’s come back from his lowest point to beat Deontay Wilder for the WBC.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a 50-50 fight, Joshua has got great strength, hand speed, dedication and motivation, and he’s very competitive. With Fury, you know he is mentally very strong, tactically as well. He’s unorthodox and hard to hit, he’s fast and he’s a bigger guy with the longer reach. For me, he has the edge.”
Joyce moved up the rankings with his own victory over the previously defeated Daniel Dubois to earn the chance to take on Usyk, assuming a fight is agreed.
The former Olympian believes that he would be able to go toe to toe with the division’s current champions, who are set to agree a two-fight deal.
“I think I’m ready for them both. They’re both at the top of their game,” he said.
"I’d make sure I have a great training camp and get my tactics right but I’m confident of my ability. I’ve sparred them both, we had competitive spars and it’ll be the same on fight night just with a lot more at stake.
“If I get through Usyk and make that, and beat him, I’ve got the potential to fight the winner of AJ-Fury, which is the biggest fight. That’s belts on the line.”
After waiting years to turn pro compared to the rest of the division’s top contenders, Joyce is keen to step up to challenge for recognition.
“I’m used to that kind of thing as I guess in the GB team I was always in Joshua’s shadow," he explained.
"I’ve always been a bit stealth and under the radar. The fight against Dubois was like my big coming out fight. Now my face is being included with all the top names so I’m going in the right direction.”