According to Anthony Joshua's Manager, Jones, Joyce is set to become one of Joshua’s mandatory challengers later down the line and both of them, with their Nigerian heritage and background could have that bout take place in Africa, and preferably in Nigeria.
The emergence of Anthony Joshua as heavyweight champion raised the possibility of a title-contending bout taking place in Nigeria down the line as another heavyweight fight on the continent has been teased for a while since the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire, Congo, when Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope tactics outfoxed George Foreman in that legendary heavyweight title fight.
That possibility is nearer reality now than ever before with the assurance given by Sam Jones, the manager of Joseph Obey Joyce, the 35-year-old British professional boxer who has held the British, Commonwealth, European, WBC Silver, and WBO International heavyweight titles since 2020.
For the time being, the two have scheduled fights to prepare for. Joyce is scheduled for a July 24 fight against Armand Carlos Netsing Takam, the Cameroonian-born French professional boxer who challenged for the unified WBA, IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles against Joshua in 2017, while Joshua also has his hands full.
Joshua is now obliged to defend the WBO belt against the governing body’s mandatory challenger, the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, with his IBF and WBA titles also on the line. The fight is scheduled for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25, according to Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn.
This has not dissuaded Jones from discussing the possibility of a Joyce versus Joshua battle on the African continent and Nigeria in particular. Jones pointed out why when he said: “They are both of Nigerian descent so that could be huge.”
THEWILL notes that while Joshua’s linkage to Nigeria comes from both parents, who trace their ancestry to the Sagamu area of Ogun State, Jones, on the other hand, has a Nigerian mother while his father is a Scottish-born Irishman. It is this Nigerian-descent that Jones points to in his rationale for a Nigerian venue for their heavyweight fight.
Jones continued: “If AJ needs a dance partner in Nigeria, look no further. That fight would be something very, very special.
“Joe would relish the thought of fighting Joshua in Nigeria, but he also would fight Tyson Fury in Las Vegas or in a stadium in the UK.”
However, before this can come to pass, an all-British unification bout between Fury and Joshua is still on the cards and may be arranged if Joshua emerges victorious against Usyk, and Fury stands tall in his title defence of the WBC belt against former champion Deontay Wilder, in their enforced third meeting.
These upcoming fights disturbed the schedule of Joyce as well. He was meant to take on an eliminator bout against Uysk before the latter was rescheduled to fight Joshua and Joyce had to accept the Takam July 24 battle to remain in shape. In his previous fight last year, his undisputed record was sullied by Daniel Dubois who quit after Joyce fractured his eye socket.
That had buoyed his manager to make big claims. “Joe will be mandatory to the world title. Hopefully Joshua and Fury get it on, and Joe will get the winner. Joe’s time will come. He wants to see Joshua vs Fury too – there needs to be an undisputed title fight. He doesn’t care who wins.”
“What is Joyce, in the prime of his life at 35, going to get from fighting a no-hoper? We want to build on the Dubois fight against a name that people know, and someone who will have a go.
“Joe is in a great position and we could take an easier fight but he isn’t like that. Joe wouldn’t be up for fighting a no-hoper. Takam is notorious for having a go. He’s dangerous, he has operated at the world level for a long time.”
A bout between two heavy-hitters with Nigerian ancestry and an identity of relating with the country, such as Joshua is wont to do with his overt love for Nigerian music and culture that he always promotes on social media, will be a plus for boxing in the country and will enlarge the mark Nigeria is already making in unarmed combat sports.
Efe Ajagba is making waves in the heavyweight category with the Nigerian map clearly displayed next to his name. Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya have taken the mixed martial arts (MMA) Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) by storm and have made the country a force to reckon with in these muscle and brawn divisions.
A heavyweight title fight in Nigeria as Sam Jones envisions will take all these and expand on the global stage for the boxers and the country’s benefits.
