Battle of Britain still on the cards

BOXING

LONDON–Joe Joyce defeated Carlos Takam in the sixth round of t heir Wembley Arena contest and the British heavyweight is ready for t he winner of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk next.

The 35- year-old Londoner, who has now gone 13 professional boxing bouts without defeat, landed a series of punches on Takam in round six which forced referee Steve Gray to stop the fight as the French struggled to stand in the ring.

Joyce’ s promoter Frank Warren confirmed the 35yearold is now the WBO’s new mandatory challenger to face the winner of Joshua or Usyk - and the ‘ Juggernaut’ claims he is ready for the potential challenge of AJ.

He told BT Sport after his victory: ‘ What I want is AJ or Usyk! I don’t need any more tests. I’ve started at the deep end and I’ve carried on at a steady trajectory.’

Joyce has now followed in the footsteps of fellow British heavyweights Joshua and Derek Chisora in beating Takam in recent years. He already has his eyes on Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium hosting the fight against either Joshua or Usyk.

Meanwhile, Joshua is set to take on Usyk on September 25 at the Tott enham Hotspur Stadium, after t he Watfordborn boxer’s allBritish unification fight with Tyson Fury was postponed. Alongside a picture of Joyce donning the new Arsenal shirt outside the Emirates, promoter Warren wrote on Twitter: ‘ When they’re done with Spurs, The Juggernaut would like to invite Anthony Joshua or Oleksander Usyk to his patch… Let’s GO!’