Joseph Parker’s manager has challenged Joe Joyce to meet the New Zealander in the ring and risk his status as WBO mandatory challenger.
Joyce was elected the new WBO mandatory after Oleksandr Usyk took a fight with heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
The Briton will be first in line to fight the winner of the bout later this month, but has been challenged to take a fight with Joseph Parker ahead of time.
Parker’s manager, David Higgins, was asked by Sky Sports whether a fight with Joyce could feature in their plans, to which he replied:
“Yes, sure thing. They are welcome to contact me. Yes, we would fight Joe Joyce.”
There appears to be a considerable appetite to make the fight happen from Joyce’s side, too.
His own manager, Sam Jones, told Sky Sports:
“Joseph Parker is a great fight – if it presents itself, we’d take it in a heartbeat.”
“Andy Ruiz Jr, Luis Ortiz. It’s a real possibility it could happen. Joe is game for either of those.”
“We are looking forward to making big, big fights now for Joe. I’ve made it clear that we only want big fights and that’s what we’ll get.”
Joyce and his team clearly have no intention of ducking anyone. They want the biggest fights, the best fighters and the most considerable challenges.
Whether that will be Joyce, any of the others mentioned by Jones or another heavyweight contender remains to be seen – but it’s exciting times for the Juggernaut.