JOE JOYCE hopes his sensational KO of Joseph Parker convinced ringside Tyson Fury to sign up for an all-English slugfest.
The WBC Gypsy King had the best seat in the Manchester arena to watch 37-year-old Putney heavyweight chop down his New Zealand stablemate on Saturday night in the eleventh round.
Fury and Anthony Joshua’s teams are meeting on Monday to try to thrash out a deal for a December 3 showdown in Cardiff - with Fury claiming if the deal isn’t done he will pick a different opponent.
Christmas would be too soon for Joyce to be ready again, but he hopes Fury comes through with a 2023 battle of Britain.
When asked if Fury or a rematch with his amateur opponent and new WBA, IBF and WBO boss Oleksandr Usyk was more exciting, Joyce said: “I want Usyk again but Tyson Fury reckons he is up for a scrap with me now.
"He knows it would be a tough fight for himself now but I think he wants it.
“I think he wants to fight me.
“Both Usyk and Fury are tough fights because they are both at the absolute top level.
“They both have different strengths and weaknesses but are very different fighters.
“Fury is the tall switch hitter who can now bang a bit. Usyk is the smaller man but he’s the quicker southpaw.
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS - BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
“They are both really tough opponents but fights that I want.”
Joyce shipped dozens of shots from the former WBO champ but smashed his nose and slashed a gash into his right eye, before the late left-hook KO.
Despite some very even bloody rounds, Joyce strolled out of the ring with barely a mark on him while Parker looked like the victim of a car crash.
And the 37-year-old west Londoner confirmed it’s the name of his game.
“The punches do hurt,” he grinned. “But I am tough.
“I am the Juggernaut.”
Parker threw the kitchen sink, dishwasher and tumble dryer at Joyce but could not put a single dent in him.
And the punishment the 30-year-old Samoan suffered back was, at times, hard to watch but he’s not ready to give up yet.
“I kept chipping away but it was a tough challenge when he is always in front of you and pressuring you,” he said.
“I will be straight back in the gym, it was just not my night but I will bounce right back.
“He is a very tough man, Joe was the toughest challenge of my career, every time I hit him he just kept coming back.
“He pours so much pressure on you, he is a helluva fighter.
“But I still feel I have a lot to offer boxing.”
