JOE CAN TAKAM DOWN
Joyce in the driving seat
JOE JOYCE went on a tour of London on a big red bus yesterday to announce his next clash against Carlos Takam.
But the British heavyweight wants his next stop to be a world title fight.
Joyce, 35, will face tough Takam on July 24 at Wembley Arena and the Juggernaut has vowed to run over the Cameroon challenger, who was stopped in 10 rounds by Anthony Joshua back in 2017.
But yesterday he was rolling through the streets of London with motormouth manager Sam Jones trying to promote the summer showdown.
He said: “I only want competitive fights but everyone wants to avoid me.
“Carlos Takam didn’t even want to spar me in Las Vegas, so I’m surprised he’s taken the fight.
“He has operated at a high level for a long time but on July 24 the Juggernaut will be activated and I will run him over.” Unbeaten Joyce won the British, Commonwealth and European titles by beating Daniel Dubois in November.
But he has been waiting to see how Joshua’s negotiations with Tyson Fury would play out as he could have got a shot at the WBO title against Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk.
With Joshua now facing Usyk, Joyce will have to wait – but he cannot afford a blunder as he fights Takam on the same night Fury defends his WBC title against Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas.
Promoter Frank Warren said: “Joe cannot afford to slip up. He is in a tremendous position but he has to be focused and we want to see an impressive performance from him.
“Given Joe’s position with the WBO, he could have taken far easier options than this.”