A buoyant Joe Joyce is confident he would inflict more punishment on Oleksandr Usyk than Anthony Joshua managed in his recent defeats against the Ukrainian.
Joyce, 37, maintained his place at the front of the heavyweight queue by destroying Joseph Parker on Saturday night, when a chopping left hook wiped the former world champion out in round 11.
By toppling Parker, the Juggernaut flexed his muscles as the dark horse of the division and ensured he will be first in line for a crack at world honours as mandatory for Usyk’s WBO crown.
Joe Joyce (R) is confident he would do more damage to Oleksandr Usyk than Anthony Joshua
Joshua was beaten by Usyk for a second time in their Saudi Arabia rematch last month
After beating Joseph Parker on Saturday night, Joyce is now gunning for a shot at Usyk
Yet Usyk, who also holds the WBA ‘Super’ and IBF straps, is holding out for an undisputed showdown with WBC champion Tyson Fury next after beating Joshua for a second time last month.
The masterful southpaw – who got the better of Joyce as an amateur – outpointed AJ on both occasions, although their second encounter was regarded by some as a closer affair.
Regardless, Joyce insists he would push Usyk back with more damaging shots than Joshua if they collide again in the professional ranks.
‘I think Joshua is a different kind of boxer and different style,’ he told Sportsmail. ‘He can throw more powerful shots but less of them than me.
‘I’ve got a better engine than him, so it would be a different fight – especially with [Ismael] Salas providing me with a game plan. But it would be a tough fight.
‘Joshua did well in their rematch. I think it was closer but he pushed too late, because he was hitting him to the body and stuff, but I think I’d do a lot more damaging shots and a lot more of them over the fight, roughing him up and stuff.
The Juggernaut is mandatory challenger for Usyk’s WBO title after his win on Saturday night
He insists he has a better engine than AJ and would be able to inflict more punishment on Usyk
‘But let’s see what happens, there’s very exciting fights on the horizon for me and I’m in a good place.’
After suffering consecutive defeats for the first time as a professional, Joshua sparked controversy by taking the mic and launching a bizarre tirade, before chucking Usyk’s heavyweight belts out of the ring.
Joyce has not seen eye to eye with his former sparring partner of late, with the pair engaging in a fiery spat on Twitter earlier this year.
On Joshua’s post-fight speech, the Brit said: ‘He was pretty much throwing his toys out of the pram wasn’t he?
‘But I guess he put so much effort into training hard for that fight and he maybe thought he did enough, but he obviously didn’t and that was a tough pill to swallow – especially when his corner were saying that he’s up [on the scorecards]. So it’s just a number of things that are not quite right.’
Joyce also described Joshua’s post-fight meltdown as ‘throwing his toys out of the pram’
Despite his recent shortcomings, Joshua finds himself on the cusp of another world-title shot after being handed an unexpected lifeline by Fury.
The Gypsy King turned his attention to a Battle of Britain with his domestic rival after Usyk revealed he is unable to return to the ring in December, but following weeks of negotiations Fury now claims AJ has missed his deadline to sign for the fight.
Joyce, however, believes that would be a blessing in disguise for him.
‘I think he should take some easier fights, get his confidence back and then come back and challenge for the title,’ he said about Joshua.
‘Fury’s kind of rushing him into the fight and stuff, meanwhile he’s got loads of other options like Mahmoud Charr and my name’s also been mentioned.
‘But it’s exciting times for heavyweight boxing and I’m in a great place after my victory on Saturday.’
