Joe Fournier wants to cement major fights with the likes of KSI and Logan Paul next year after he makes his ring return on the Brit's undercard in January.
Fournier will face Tony Christodoulou, a former UFC fighter who last stepped in the cage over five years ago, in a bout that likely only exists to keep him motivated and training as the back-up fighter for KSI's main event bout with Dillon Danis. But he is training hard in Miami regardless of his opponent's level, and is plotting a big year in the ring for 2023.
The Hounslow native is set up at the Fifth Street Gym in Florida, once home to Muhammad Ali, and will return to the UK for the bout early next year. And in a recent training video recorded by Misfits Boxing, he explained that he wants to face KSI and Paul as his career moves forward.
"Listen, I'm just smashing through Tony," he admitted. "Tony's just a stepping stone to KSI. I want KSI, I want Logan, I want all these guys. At the end of the day, I'm still enjoying my life. I don't need to do full training camps for these guys, 12 weeks and all that because they're not on my level, I know they're not on my level.
"I respect what they've done for boxing, I respect what Misfits is doing I think it's incredible the crossover boxing. There's a huge fanbase and I'm very appreciative to be on it, but when it comes to straight up boxing purist, when I hit that man with a right hand it's game over for every single one of them."
It's believed that should Danis pull out of the fight with KSI, having refused to travel for their pre-fight press conference or appear on video link, that Fournier will step in. At 9-0 as a professional, and having once held a ranking at light-heavyweight with the WBA, he would be a monumental step up for the YouTube star, who to this point has only faced celebrities and a farcical journeyman boxer.
Who would you rather see KSI fight; Dillon Danis or Joe Fournier? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"It’s official back on pay-per-view and back in London January 14 Wembley Arena," Fournier wrote on Instagram. "I’m smashing through Tony Christodoulou and onto KSI in my next fight if he doesn’t get scared like the rest of them! Or if Dillon Danis, doesn’t show up Tony gets a life line and I SMASH KSI sooner."
Danis is a Bellator MMA fighter by trade, having transitioned to the cage from a successful jiu-jitsu career where he is a black belt. However, after going 2-0 in 2019, he was forced out of action for the best part of four years with a serious knee injury that required two surgeries.
He is not known for his striking, although he has trained in the stand-up portion of MMA with the legendary former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor and Bellator lightweight title contender Peter Queally. KSI is the heavy favourite in his fight with Danis, but those odds would shift significantly if 9-0 Fournier were brought in as a late replacement.
