Joe Joyce's promoter Frank Warren is plotting a busy end to 2021 for his fighter ahead of a potentially explosive 2022.
After beating Daniel Dubois in November, Joyce had hoped to face Oleksandr Usyk this year for the interim WBO heavyweight title.
But the Ukrainian is now set to face Anthony Joshua in September after AJ’s undisputed battle with Tyson Fury, who was ordered to face Deontay Wilder, fell through, and Joyce will now face Carlos Takam on July 24 instead.
Providing he comes through that fight, Joyce will still be the mandatory challenger with the WBO and will hope for a shot at the winner of AJ and Usyk or AJ and Fury, if they can reschedule for next summer.
Whatever happens on that front, though, Warren also fancies a rematch between Joyce and Dubois and he is confident that, if they both keep winning, that fight might well be too big for an arena.
Warren said: “The big fight out there is Fury versus Joshua but next year, and I believe it will be a stadium fight if they keep winning, the rematch between Joyce and Dubois is huge.
“There are so many big fights.
“I grew up when the British heavyweight scene was a case of who’d even think about winning world titles?
“Now it’s like a load of buses coming along.
“Joe is a quiet man, he does his business in the ring but he does everything — everything — that has been asked of him.
“He’s silent but deadly.
“Once the AJ and Fury fight is done, assuming they win their respective fights, Joe will be in a great position whereby he is the mandatory and will fight the winner.
“Having said that, he has to win his fight against Takam and we want to keep him busy, so he’s out on July 24 and we go from there.
“But he has a tremendous pedigree and he knows he can’t afford to slip up if he wants his seat at the top table.”
