JOE JOYCE scored the biggest win of his career on Saturday night with a stunning stoppage of former world champion Joseph Parker.
The Putney pounder punched his way to title contention with an 11th-round knockout victory over the New Zealander in Manchester.
A vicious left hook a little over a minute into the round flattened the durable Parker and saw Joyce get his hands on the interim WBO heavyweight title.
Joyce, 37, is now primed and ready to mix it with the big names in the heavyweight division.
And SunSport is on hand to outline the potential opponents for his next foray to the ring.
Joe Joyce’s potential next opponent
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Oleksandr Usyk
A clash with unified heavyweight champion Usyk could be in the offing for Joyce following his destruction of Parker.
The Olympian was the mandatory challenger for the Ukrainian’s WBO title before sparking out Parker, a victory which has left many clamouring for him to take another step up in competition.
Joyce called out the slick southpaw in his post-fight interview.
A fight with Usyk, however, will likely not materialise anytime soon as the former undisputed cruiserweight king is on course for an undisputed showdown with Tyson Fury.
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Dillian Whyte
A Battle of Britain with recent WBC title challenger Whyte could prove to be a decent and realistic interim fight for Joyce should his crack at gold be delayed.
Despite his lopsided defeat to Fury last April, Whyte would provide Joyce with a much sterner and more robust test than the often one-dimensional Parker.
A similarly impressive win over Joyce would not only see his stock increase with casual fans but would cement his status as the third-best British heavyweight.
Deontay Wilder
Like Whyte, former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder is also looking to get himself back into title contention following a brutal knockout loss to Fury.
And a win over Joyce would catapult him back to the top of the contenders’ heap – a place the Brit could find himself if he were to best The Bronze Bomber.
Wilder, however, has the small matter of getting through former sparring partner Robert Helenius next month before a fight with Joyce can become a possibility.
Andy Ruiz Jr
Former unified heavyweight champ Ruiz Jr is still very much in the mix following his decision victory over veteran Luis Ortiz earlier this month.
So the Mexican could prove to be a viable opponent for Joyce should The Juggernaut be forced to wait for his shot at the winner of Usyk vs Fury.
Anthony Joshua
AJ is currently in negotiations to face Fury in an unlikely grudge match on December 3.
But should the bout fail to come together, a fight between the former unified champion and Joyce would make complete sense.
Joshua, 32, is in desperate need of a win over a household name following his consecutive defeats to pound-for-pound king Usyk.
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And although Joyce just flattened Parker, he’s still in need of a win over a big name to make his claim to a title shot undeniable.
The fight would also have a little bit of added spice as the pair are former sparring partners and were recently involved in a public war of words on social media.
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
