Joe Joyce has warned Tyson Fury that Anthony Joshua can "bang" as the pair close in on a heavyweight title fight this December.
Fury revealed he was willing to halt his retirement plans to return to the ring and challenge Oleksandr Usyk in a bid to become undisputed champion. However that fight will be delayed with the Ukrainian taking time away from the sport, so Fury has elected to hand long-term rival Joshua a mega-fight for his WBC title this December.
Joshua has accepted the offer and it appears a fight is set to take place on December 3 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff once contracts are signed. The 'Gypsy King' will go into the clash as a huge favourite with his potential opponent coming into the clash on the back of two consecutive defeats by Usyk.
However, despite previously predicting Joshua would be the first man to defeat the WBC champion, Joyce expects Fury to overcome his counterpart despite acknowledging the size of the test. "I think it is more in favour of Fury but I wouldn't write Joshua off in the fight because he can bang," Joyce told Mirror Fighting when discussing the match-up.
"I think he improved a lot against Usyk from the last fight and I think he can maybe do something but it will be a tough test. It has been presented to him and it is a good option and maybe he might have benefitted for his morale to have a couple of easier fights to get his confidence back. But he doesn't want to do that.
"It is exciting and it is what people want to see. Joshua is dangerous and he has power in both hands. Maybe if he presses the fight more and comes out better offensively he could do it but it's certainly going to be an exciting fight."
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Joyce has sparred both men during his time in the sport, and was stopped by Joshua in the opening round of their amateur bout. Fury and 'AJ' have pined for a clash for several years and came closest to settling the scores last year after signing on the dotted line for an undisputed clash, which was later shelved with Fury forced to face Deontay Wilder for a third time.
However it now appears that talks are on track for Joshua to finally touch gloves with Fury in what will be considered the biggest fight in recent British boxing history.
BT Sport Box Office will show Joe Joyce v Joseph Parker exclusively live on Saturday 24th September. Learn more at bt.com/sportboxoffice
